One of Baja California’s most unique cactus species is the creeping devil, Stenocereus eruca (also classified as Machaerocereus eruca according to some taxonomists). No other cacti adopt a prostrate growth habit as effectively and obviously as this one does. The stems are about 3 to 4 inches thick (8 to 10 cm) and crawl along the sandy soil surface in coastal plain regions close to the Pacific Ocean in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. Endemic to Baja Sur, Stenocereus eruca is locally abundant but overall occupies a fairly restricted natural range when viewed from a global scale of perspective.

Reaching lengths of over 2 meters, the growing points at one end of the stem are often slightly upturned and elevated off of the sand, giving the plants an appearance of observing where they are planning to go next. The back end of the plant, where the oldest tissues are, frequently die off with age, with the result being that they actually migrate substantial distances over time. Of course this is a very slow motion migration taking decades and generally only being noticeable in before-and-after photos taken many years apart.

Scroll through the post to see more photos of this odd and wonderful cactus. Thanks!

The low-lying coastal plain that surrounds the Bahia Magdalena region of Baja California Sur is the epicenter of the range of Stenocereus eruca. Outlying populations also occur to the north and south of here, and on the Pacific islands of Magdalena and Santa Margarita. This is a very dry region that experiences rainfall mostly from tropical cyclonic systems and hurricanes that arrive in late summer and early autumn, although storms like this don’t necessarily arrive every year either. Coastal fog is also common and helps reduce evaporation by keeping the humidity elevated even when rain has been lacking. Prominent associated plants of the region include Pachycereus pringlei, Fouquieria diguetii, and Yucca valida.

As the stems of creeping devils grow along the soil surface, they develop roots along the portion that is in contact with the sand. Some branching is common in Stenocereus eruca, with many older plants having anywhere from 1 to 4 side stems coming off of the central one. Sometimes there are even more than this, as illustrated here. As these side branches head off in different directions and the oldest portion of the original stem dies off, it can lead to new plants that are nominally separate but still clones of the original mother plant. Clonal reproduction is a common strategy in arid environments since seed reproduction can be difficult due to lack of rainfall for seedlings to become established. That said, creeping devils do successfully flower and set seeds and occasional seedlings to get started in good years, which helps perpetuate genetic diversity in the population.

The Spanish name for this plant is “chirinola”. I looked that word up to see if it has an English translation, and among various options the words “tantrum” and “heated discussion” were listed. I don’t know if this applies directly or indirectly in any way to why creeping devils were named this. In any case, walking around in them can be a bit of an exercise in careful navigation. In Mexico you seem to have a chirinola maze, whereas north of the border we make corn mazes! (Maize maze, if you will….)

New growth on Stenocereus eruca often emerges a dark pink to red color as the cells of new spines are still alive and growing at this stage of their development. Once those cells die they turn the chalky grayish-white of the stiff, sturdy spines that the plant retains for the rest of its life. This is similar to how your fingernails grow, with the base being pink and alive and the outer part dying and turning white. The oldest spines at the back end frequently turn almost black after decades of exposure to sun and fog, before finally decomposing into the sand once again.

The arid coastal sand plains of this part of Baja don’t have a huge variety of animals away from the ocean, but a variety of small and probably endemic lizards do occupy the habitat. Here one uses the shade and spiny nature of the creeping devil cactus for protection against the large primate with the camera.

I left the lizard alone after taking his portrait a few times. I generally avoid catching lizards for my own enjoyment because it can deeply stress the small animals out and force certain species (and I’m assuming this is one of them) to shed their tails in self-defense. Tail dropping is an adaptation many small lizards use in an effort to distract predators who might lunge for the wriggling tail rather than the main lizard itself, thereby giving the lizard a chance to escape to safety. I don’t want them to deploy this emergency survival strategy against me since ultimately I’m not an actual threat to them. But they don’t know that, and since tail shedding is metabolically costly for animals already pressed to survive in such a harsh dry environment, I don’t want to put them through it needlessly.

This pair of Stenocereus eruca plants look almost like some sort of Chinese characters to my eye. If they meant anything in the actual Chinese language, what would they say? I vote for “silly gringo”.

Another cactus found sympatrically with Stenocereus eruca is Ferocactus santa-maria, one of the smaller barrel cacti in the genus. Closely affiliated with the larger F. townsendianus, F. santa-maria is smaller and grayer and more adapted to oceanic conditions. Here, it almost looks as if a pair of marauding creeping devils are approaching the barrel cactus in an attempt to mug it. Run Ferocactus, run!

In contrast to the prior image, this creeping devil politely skirted to the side of a different Ferocactus santa-maria, like two pedestrians giving each other space while passing on a sidewalk.

A single yellow fruit of Ferocactus santa-maria occupies a position atop the crown of the plant. As with many species of cacti and succulents in this region, the barrel blooms mainly in late summer and fall, and ripens the fruits and seeds in the spring of the next year. This approach helps ensure that some seeds are present in the ecosystem at the proper time of year, ready to germinate should the heavens bless this dry part of the peninsula with substantial rainfall from a later-season tropical storm or hurricane system. With any luck, the rains will be abundant enough to allow for the germination and subsequent survival of the seedlings to carry on the next generation.

Most populations of creeping devil are not this dense, so it is fun to see a good stand of them like this. This plant can sometimes be found in cactus collections but is not widely offered for sale compared to many other species. I do grow a number of them here outdoors in the ground in western Arizona, but I have found that they definitely do better if shaded from the blistering summer sun and hot soil surface temperatures between June and September. Full sun in an interior desert situation is significantly different from full sun in a more moderate coastal climate. In habitat, the plants seldom face temperatures of much above 90 F/34 C, and even if it gets hotter on rare occasions it tends to be of short duration, and it usually cools down at night due to the proximity of the ocean a few kilometers away. Even though where I live is almost a thousand miles farther north and a thousand meters higher in elevation, it’s significantly hotter here for a few months a year and this can be fatal to this species.

I have not found cold winters with long-duration freezing episodes to be a major barrier to growing this species, weirdly enough. Even though I have to plant them in the shade to help with summer sun, being in winter shade hasn’t harmed them, fortunately. I attribute this to the fact that their low, ground-hugging profile probably helps insulate them from the coldest nights in a way that they would not be if they were poking up into the air the way other Stenocereus species do. They might also just also have a few degrees of extra frost tolerance built into their genetics as well, in addition to their earthbound lifestyle. Either way, I am very happy that I can grow these! My largest one is now close to 7 feet/2 meters long and grows as much as 6 inches/15 cm per year.

This pattern of Stenocereus eruca on the Magdalena Plain of Baja Sur looks like huge snowflakes or patterns of hoarfrost on a wintry window pane to my eye. I last saw this species in habitat all the way back in 1992, 32 years ago. It was spectacular to revisit them again in April 2024.

Pondering the life choices that have led to me to lay prone upon a dry sand plain amongst the prickles.

This Baja tour in late April and early May of 2024 was created and led by Guillermo Rivera at www.plantexpeditions.com . I wholly endorse him as a superb naturalist and small business owner who competently navigates through the complexities of leading groups of anywhere from 8 to 16 people through a wide variety of natural habitats where cacti, succulents, other plants, and often wildlife are found.