Plants · La Saladita, Guerrero

Triangle cactus

Acanthocereus tetragonus

Spanish: Bejunco

Triangle cactus (Acanthocereus tetragonus)
Photographed by zihuadean on iNaturalist · CC-BY-NC

Acanthocereus tetragonus is a species of cactus that is native to Florida and the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States, Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, and northern South America. Common names include night-blooming cereus, barbed-wire cactus, sword-pear, dildo cactus, triangle cactus, and Órgano-alado de pitaya (Spanish). It was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as Cactus tetragonus but was moved to the genus Acanthocereus in 1938 by Pieter Wagenaar Hummelinck.

TaxonomyMagnoliopsida › Caryophyllales › Cactaceae
Local records15 research-grade observations within about 50 km of La Saladita (the survey box also takes in Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa and Troncones)
Global records7,092 on iNaturalist
Most recent records2025 – 2026
Months of the 8 most recent records
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Recent local sightings

Interactive card with more photos, sounds and similar species Plants guide iNaturalist Wikipedia

Cite as: “Triangle cactus (Acanthocereus tetragonus) at La Saladita”, La Saladita Field Guide, lasaladita.com/species/acanthocereus-tetragonus/, updated 2026-09-26. Observation counts and months come from iNaturalist research-grade records within about 50 km of 17.8375°N, 101.7606°W (the survey box also takes in Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa and Troncones); summary text from Wikipedia where present.