What is a PC San Pedro?
“PC San Pedro” is a phrase that gets bandied around often and has become synonymous with "bad genetics" in the cactus community, but what is it really? What exactly is a "PC San Pedro", and how can you spot one, and should you avoid them?
PC is a botanic term that simply stands for Predominant Cultivar. As the name suggests, it refers to a cultivar or variety, or strain of a plant that is predominant and widespread.
To take it back one step further, a cultivar is essentially a variety of species or genera that has been developed by humans. For example, a German Shepherd is a cultivar of the domestic dog (Canis Familiaris). The vast majority of plants have been bred and developed through human intervention, and the most favourable varieties often become the predominant cultivars. However, anyone who knows the myriad of health problems suffered by pure-bred German Shepherds will start to understand why predominant cultivars or "PC" aren't necessarily the healthiest specimens. Nature needs diversity in the gene pool to keep organisms strong and free of diseases. Inbreeding and repeatedly cloning specimens increases the risk of problems occurring.
So in summary a “PC San Pedro” is a cultivar of the San Pedro (Echinopsis Pachanoi) cactus that exists as a result of repeated use as a parent plant in cloning programs and is therefore widespread. It is essentially a clone, of a clone, of a clone, of a clone. It refers to any plant cultivar that has become widespread due to its popularity among growers, meaning there are lots of them around!
This leads us to the primary point: there is no single “PC San Pedro”.
The predominant cultivar for a species of plant in Australia would almost definitely be different than the predominant Cultivar in the USA (which is the PC most talked about in online forums on the topic). It would also be different from the predominant cultivar in Mexico, which would likely be different from the predominant cultivar in Europe. In fact, the cultivar of San Pedro that is most common in Australia is likely not even available in USA due to international quarantine restrictions, and vice versa.
Don’t overthink it
If you want a guaranteed genuine Echinopsis Pachanoi then you just need to know two things: The Genus/Species name of the plant and where it was originally collected from (or purchased). If you know those things then you can be 100% sure of what you're getting; no doubt about it!
What about us, do we sell a Predominant Cultivar?
All of the San Pedro cuttings that we sell at Cactus Culture Australia are from 30+-year-old plants that were originally grown from seed, not from cuttings. This means we sell many slightly different unique cultivars. If you were to buy and plant one of our cuttings, then take cuttings of your own and repeat that process 50 or so times and saturate the market with your new cultivar- congratulations, you just created a PC San Pedro!
