Stenocereus gummosus ( ) ( )

Cactaceae

• This is a large sprawling cactus, the stems often arching and leaning, forming thickets of impenetrably spiny tangles commonly 2 to 3 m tall. It occurs throughout much of Baja California, on San Esteban and Tiburon Islands, and along the Sonoran coast from the vicinity of El Desemboque southward nearly to Cerro Prieto near the north end of Kino Bay. It somewhat resembles Stenocereus alamoensis; however, the geographic ranges of the two species do not overlap and the flowers and fruit are very different. The stems and fruit are covered with very sharp and brittle twisted spines. The large whitish flowers are nocturnal. The fruit is about the size of a small orange. When it is ripe the spines tend to fall away. Throughout most of its range the fruit is red when ripe, although in the vicinity of El Desemboque the Seri know of plants which bear yellowish fruit. Flowering and fruiting generally begin later than the other large-fruited species, and fruiting usually continues well into fall. However, flowering and fruiting may be reduced during years of low rainfall. and such reduction may yield scant harvests. Caulking: S. gummosus was occasionally used to make pitch. Food: the fruit was highly esteemed for its sweet and tart flavor. It was eaten fresh or, if plentiful, often dried in the same manner as was organ pipe fruit. S. gummosus fruit is very delicious, and it continued to be harvested in the 1980s. . "People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians".