There are many columnar cacti that are blue. This is a bluer one. It has the most amazing turquoise/blue color. In a moonlit night it appears almost ghost-like.

Originally from Mexico or Brazil the Facheiro Azul cactus is one of the most spectacular columnar cacti that can be grown in the warmer, drier areas of the US (Arizona and California). Other common names are “Mandacarú de Facho” and “Blue Candle”, but according to recent literature, its proper name is now Pilosocereus pachycladus, and azureus is a synonym. This plant can reach from 7 up to about 30 feet or higher.

As Pilosocereus cacti age, they produce what is called a ‘pseudocephalium’, where the plant produces thick, soft tufts of orange/white hair (sort-of like that seen in ‘old man cacti’). This area of the cactus is where during the growing season short-lived night-blooming flowers with a very strong, sweet fragrance pop out (a relatively rare occurence, at least here in Southern California).

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