Echinocereus is a genus of ribbed, usually small to medium-sized, cylindrical shaped cacti, comprising about 70 species native to the southern United States and Mexico in very sunny, rocky places. Usually the flowers are large and the fruit edible.

The name comes from the Ancient Greek ἐχῖνος (echinos), meaning "sea urchin", and the Latin cereus meaning "candle". They are sometimes known as hedgehog cacti, a term also used for the Pediocactus and Echinopsis.

Description

The species of the genus Echinocereus grow solitary or branching with prostrate to erect shoots that are spherical to cylindrical. The roots are fibrous or bulbous. The plants reach heights of growth between 1 and 60 centimeters. On the tips of the 4 to 26 ribs, which are mostly clear and only rarely resolved into humps, are the areoles, from which differently shaped spines can arise.

A distinctive characteristic and likely synapomorphy of the genus is the erumpent flowers. The floral buds develop internally and break through the epidermis of the stem. This flower morphology is likely an adaptation to protect the developing buds from low temperatures. Upon maturity, the flowers are usually brightly colored and open during the day. Echinocereus floral color is variable because perianth color reflects pollinator specificity. Red flowers are generally associated with hummingbird pollination, while pink flowers tend to correspond to moth pollination. Their pericarp and floral tubes are studded with thorns, bristles, and sometimes wool. The scar is usually green, but sometimes white in color.

The spherical to ovoid fruits are green to red and mostly thorny. They are mostly juicy and open along a longitudinal slit. The sometimes fragrant fruits contain broadly oval, black, tuberous seeds 0.8 to 2 millimeters long.

Taxonomy

Echinocereus is a genus in the tribe Echinocereeae within the subfamily Cactoideae of the Cactaceae family. The Cactoideae can be further divided into two sister clades, Cactoideae I and II. Echinocereus is situated within the Cactoideae I clade within the Pachycereeae tribe, a tribe that represents a diversification that yielded columnar and arborescent forms. Echinocereus emerged 4.6 ± 1.7 million years ago. Echinocereus is a strongly supported monophyletic genus that is sister to Stenocereus, although there has historically been substantial debate about infrageneric classification because of the genus's high rates of morphological variation and convergent evolution.

Cultivation

Echinocereus spp. are easier to cultivate than many other cacti. They need light soil, a sunny exposure, and a fresh and dry winter to flower. They grow better in soil slightly richer than other cacti. In the wild, several of the species are cold hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as −23 °C, but only in dry conditions.

Species

The following species are recognized in the genus Echinocereus by Plants of the World Online: separated by sections established in Phylogeny in Echinocereus (Cactaceae) based on combined

morphological and molecular evidence: taxonomic implications 2017.

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"

|-

! Section !! Image !! Scientific name !!Subspecies!! Distribution

|-

! rowspan="12" style="text-align:center;"| Costati

|120px || Echinocereus berlandieri || ||Mexico, Texas

|-

|120px || Echinocereus cinerascens ||

  • Echinocereus cinerascens subsp. cinerascens
  • Echinocereus cinerascens subsp. septentrionalis
  • Echinocereus cinerascens subsp. tulensis

||Texas to Mexico

|-

|120px || Echinocereus enneacanthus || || Mexico (Jalisco)

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus freudenbergeri || ||Mexico (S. Coahuila)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus longisetus ||

  • Echinocereus longisetus subsp. delaetii
  • Echinocereus longisetus subsp. longisetus

|| Mexico (Coahuila).

|-

|120px || Echinocereus nivosus || ||Mexico (SE. Coahuila, Nuevo León)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus papillosus || ||Texas to NE. Mexico

|-

|120px || Echinocereus parkeri ||

  • Echinocereus parkeri subsp. arteagensis
  • Echinocereus parkeri subsp. gonzalezii
  • Echinocereus parkeri subsp. mazapilensis
  • Echinocereus parkeri subsp. parkeri

||Mexico.

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus rayonesensis || ||Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas).

|-

|120px || Echinocereus stramineus || ||New Mexico to W. Texas and NE. Mexico

|-

|120px || Echinocereus viereckii ||

  • Echinocereus viereckii subsp. morricalii
  • Echinocereus viereckii subsp. viereckii

|| Mexico (SW. Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila).

|-

|120px || Echinocereus zapalinamensis || ||Mexico (Coahuila)

|-

! rowspan="11" style="text-align:center;"| Echinocereus

||| Echinocereus blumii || ||Mexico (Coahuila)

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus canus || ||Texas

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus chloranthus || ||SE. Arizona to W. Texas and Mexico (Chihuahua)

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus davisii || ||Texas

|-

|120px || Echinocereus mapimiensis || ||Mexico (Coahuila, Durango)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus milleri || ||Texas

|-

|120px || Echinocereus neocapillus || ||W. Texas

|-

|120px || Echinocereus pentalophus ||

  • Echinocereus pentalophus subsp. leonensis
  • Echinocereus pentalophus subsp. pentalophus
  • Echinocereus pentalophus subsp. procumbens

|| Texas, Mexico (to Jalisco)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus occidentalis ||

  • Echinocereus occidentalis subsp. breckwoldtiorum
  • Echinocereus occidentalis subsp. occidentalis

||Mexico

|-

|120px || Echinocereus russanthus || ||Texas to Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus viridiflorus ||

  • Echinocereus viridiflorus subsp. correllii
  • Echinocereus viridiflorus subsp. viridiflorus

||SW. South Dakota to N. Texas and Mexico (Coahuila)

|-

! rowspan="16" style="text-align:center;"|Erecti

|120px||Echinocereus apachensis || ||Arizona.

|-

|120px || Echinocereus barthelowianus || || Mexico (Island Magdalena)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus bonkerae ||

||Arizona

|-

|120px || Echinocereus brandegeei || ||Mexico (Baja California)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus dasyacanthus ||

  • Echinocereus dasyacanthus subsp. ctenoides
  • Echinocereus dasyacanthus subsp. dasyacanthus
  • Echinocereus dasyacanthus subsp. multispinosus
  • Echinocereus dasyacanthus subsp. rectispinus

||Mexico (Coahuila)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus engelmannii ||

  • Echinocereus engelmannii subsp. engelmannii
  • Echinocereus engelmannii subsp. llanuraensis

||United States (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Utah), Mexico

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus fasciculatus || ||Colorado to NE. Mexico.

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus felixianus || || New Mexico, Texas, Mexico (N. Sonora to N. Chihuahua)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus fendleri ||

  • Echinocereus fendleri subsp. fendleri
  • Echinocereus fendleri subsp. rectispinus

||Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah; Mexico (Baja California, NW. Sonora).

|-

|120px || Echinocereus ferreirianus ||

  • Echinocereus ferreirianus subsp. ferreirianus
  • Echinocereus ferreirianus subsp. lindsayorum

||Mexico (C. Baja California)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus ledingii || ||Arizona.

|-

|120px || Echinocereus maritimus || || Mexico (Baja California).

|-

|120px || Echinocereus nicholii || ||Arizona to Mexico (Sonora)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus pectinatus ||

  • Echinocereus pectinatus subsp. pectinatus
  • Echinocereus pectinatus subsp. rutowiorum
  • Echinocereus pectinatus subsp. wenigeri

||Mexico.

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus perplexus || ||Texas

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus relictus || ||Utah

|-

! rowspan="9" style="text-align:center;"|Pulchellus

| || Echinocereus acanthosetus || ||Mexico

|-

|120px || Echinocereus adustus ||

  • Echinocereus adustus subsp. adustus
  • Echinocereus adustus subsp. roemerianus
  • Echinocereus adustus subsp. schwarzii

||Mexico (Chihuahua)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus knippelianus || || Mexico (SE. Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí).

|-

|120px || Echinocereus laui || ||Mexico (E. Sonora, Chihuahua)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus pamanesii ||

  • Echinocereus pamanesii subsp. bonatzii
  • Echinocereus pamanesii subsp. pamanesii

||Mexico (Zacatecas)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus pulchellus || ||Mexico (Hidalgo, Puebla)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus schereri || ||Mexico (Durango).

|-

| || Echinocereus sharpii || || Mexico (Nuevo León)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus weinbergii ||

  • Echinocereus weinbergii subsp. venustus
  • Echinocereus weinbergii subsp. weinbergii

||Mexico (Jalisco)

|-

! rowspan="14" style="text-align:center;"|Reichenbachii

|120px || Echinocereus bristolii || ||Mexico (Sonora)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus chisosensis ||

  • Echinocereus chisosensis subsp. chisosensis
  • Echinocereus chisosensis subsp. fobeanus

||Texas to Mexico

|-

| || Echinocereus grandis || ||Mexico (Islands de las Animas)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus palmeri ||

  • Echinocereus palmeri subsp. mazapil
  • Echinocereus palmeri subsp. palmeri

||Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus primolanatus || ||Mexico (to Jalisco).

|-

| || Echinocereus pseudopectinatus || ||Arizona to Mexico (NE. Sonora)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus reichenbachii ||

  • Echinocereus reichenbachii subsp. armatus
  • Echinocereus reichenbachii subsp. baileyi
  • Echinocereus reichenbachii subsp. burrensis
  • Echinocereus reichenbachii subsp. fitchii
  • Echinocereus reichenbachii subsp. perbellus
  • Echinocereus reichenbachii subsp. reichenbachii

||Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas; Mexico

|-

|120px || Echinocereus rigidissimus ||

  • Echinocereus rigidissimus subsp. rigidissimus
  • Echinocereus rigidissimus subsp. rubispinus

||New Mexico, Arizona and N. Mexico

|-

|120px || Echinocereus sciurus ||

  • Echinocereus sciurus subsp. floresii
  • Echinocereus sciurus subsp. sciurus

||Mexico (S. Baja California Sur)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus scopulorum || ||Mexico (to Nayarit)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus spinigemmatus || ||Mexico (NW. Jalisco, W. Zacatecas)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus stolonifer ||

  • Echinocereus stolonifer subsp. stolonifer
  • Echinocereus stolonifer subsp. tayopensis

||Mexico (SE. Sonora, Sinaloa)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus subinermis ||

  • Echinocereus subinermis subsp. ochoterenae
  • Echinocereus subinermis subsp. subinermis

||Mexico (Sonora, Sinaloa, SW. Chihuahua, Durango)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus websterianus || ||Mexico (Sonora: Island San Pedro Nolasco)

|-

! rowspan="15" style="text-align:center;"| Triglochidiata

|120px || Echinocereus acifer || ||Mexico

|-

|120px || Echinocereus arizonicus ||

  • Echinocereus arizonicus subsp. arizonicus
  • Echinocereus arizonicus subsp. matudae
  • Echinocereus arizonicus subsp. nigrihorridispinus

||Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus bakeri || ||Arizona, Nevada, Utah

|-

|120px || Echinocereus coccineus ||

  • Echinocereus coccineus subsp. coccineus
  • Echinocereus coccineus subsp. paucispinus
  • Echinocereus coccineus subsp. rosei

||New Mexico and Mexico (Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua)

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus gurneyi || ||Texas.

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus huitcholensis || ||Mexico (SE. Sinaloa to NW. Jalisco)

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus marksianus || ||Mexico (San Luis Potosí)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus ortegae ||

  • Echinocereus ortegae subsp. koehresianus
  • Echinocereus ortegae subsp. ortegae

||Mexico

|-

|120px || Echinocereus pacificus ||

  • Echinocereus pacificus subsp. mombergerianus
  • Echinocereus pacificus subsp. pacificus

||Mexico (Baja California)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus polyacanthus || || Mexico (Chihuahua to Jalisco).

|-

|120px || Echinocereus salm-dyckianus || || Mexico (E. Sonora to W. Chihuahua)

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus santaritensis ||

  • Echinocereus santaritensis subsp. bacanorensis
  • Echinocereus santaritensis subsp. santaritensis

||Arizona to New Mexico and Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus scheeri ||

  • Echinocereus scheeri subsp. gentryi
  • Echinocereus scheeri subsp. scheeri

||Mexico (E. Sonora to W. Durango)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus triglochidiatus ||

  • Echinocereus triglochidiatus subsp. mojavensis
  • Echinocereus triglochidiatus subsp. triglochidiatus

||Colorado to New Mexico and NW. Mexico.

|-

|120px|| Echinocereus yavapaiensis || ||Arizona

|-

! rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| Wilcoxia

| || Echinocereus kroenleinii || || Mexico (Coahuila)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus leucanthus || || Mexico (NW. Sonora, NW. Sinaloa)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus poselgeri || || Texas to NE. Mexico.

|-

|120px || Echinocereus schmollii || ||Mexico (SE. Querétaro to Hidalgo)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus waldeisii || ||Mexico (San Luis Potosí)

|-

|}

Natural hybrids

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"

|-

! Image !! Scientific name !!Subspecies!! Distribution

|-

| || Echinocereus × kunzei ( E. coccineus × E. dasyacanthus.) || || New Mexico

|-

|120px || Echinocereus × neomexicanus (E. chloranthus × E. coccineus subsp. rosei. )|| ||Mexico (Chihuahua)

|-

|120px || Echinocereus × roetteri (E. coccineus × E. dasyacanthus) ||

  • Echinocereus ×roetteri var. lloydii
  • Echinocereus ×roetteri var. neomexicanus

||New Mexico to SW. Texas and Mexico (Chihuahua)

|-

|}

Formerly placed here

  • Echinopsis candicans <small>(Gillies ex Salm-Dyck) F.A.C.Weber ex D.R.Hunt</small> (as E. candicans <small>(Gillies ex Salm-Dyck) Rümpler</small>)

References

Further reading

  • Fischer, Pierre C. 70 Common Cacti of the Southwest. City unknown: Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1989.
  • Anderson, Miles (1998). The Ultimate Book of Cacti and Succulents. . Lorenz Books.
  • Innes C, Wall B (1995). Cacti' Succulents and Bromaliads. Cassell & The Royal Horticultural Society.
  • Anderson, Edward F. : "The Cactus Family" (2001)
  • Taylor, Nigel P.: The Genus Echinocereus. Kew Magazine Monograph, Timber Press 1985,
  • Blum, Lange, Rischer & Rutow: Echinocereus, (1998)
  • Echinocereus on CactiGuide.com
  • Echinocereus Online (in German)
  • USDA PLANTS Profile