Cereus jamacaru, known as mandacaru or cardeiro,[2] is a cactus native to central and eastern Brazil.

The pulp is white with tiny black seeds, about 3 mm in size, and it is considered very tasty.

Cereus jamacaru was first described by Augustin Pyrame de Candolle and published in Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis 3: 467.

[1] There are two recognized subspecies:[4] It is endemic to the Brazilian states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Goiás, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte.

Many birds feed on the fruit, like the white-naped jay, "gralha-cancã" and the Caatinga parakeet "periquito-da-caatinga."

The most common kind is very thorny but is also used for animal feed, after burning or cutting off the thorns.