Kalmar "cereus" tana nufin wani nau'i na cactus na ginshiƙi wanda ya kasance na asali na Amurka, musamman ga Mexico da kudu maso yammacin Amurka. An samo kalmar daga kalmar Latin "cereus," wanda ke nufin "waxen" ko "waxy," dangane da kamannin kakin zuma. Ana amfani da kalmar "cereus" sau da yawa don komawa ga cacti a cikin jinsin Cereus, wanda ya haɗa da nau'in nau'i mai tsayi, cacti cylindrical tare da manyan furanni masu ban sha'awa. Waɗannan cacti ana yawan girma a matsayin tsire-tsire na ado kuma an san su da kyan gani da halaye masu girma da ba a saba gani ba.