Species · genus Borzicactus · Cactaceae

Golden Rat Tail

Cleistocactus winteri D.R.Hunt

Also known as: Golden Rat Tail Cactus · Monkey Tail Cactus · Monkey's Tail Cactus

Growth habit

succulent subshrub or lithophyte

Native range

Bolivia

Reference · C. winteri

Cultivars of C. winteri

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under C. winteri yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

A Bolivian cactus that grows as a succulent subshrub or on rock faces, so it stores water in its stems and is adapted to bright, dry conditions. Give it the brightest light you can, ideally several hours of direct sun, and plant it in a gritty, fast-draining mix. Water deeply only when the soil has dried out completely, roughly every 2 to 4 weeks, and err toward dry — the stored water means it tolerates drought far better than sitting wet.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 28 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

10–30 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus mix

Propagation

Stem cuttings or offsets, callused before potting

Fertilizing

Dilute cactus feed once or twice in summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Large salmon-orange blooms; graceful trailing golden-spined stems

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Golden Rat Tail yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.