Echinocactus Link & Otto

Echinocactus (en)

Genus

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Cactaceae

Characteristics

Plants erect, branched or unbranched, forming compact mounds of 30+ branches, not deep-seated in substrate (or deep-seated in E. texensis and, if plants immature or at high altitude, in E. horizonthalonius). Roots diffuse or short taproots. Stems unsegmented, gray-blue, gray-green, yellow-green, or grass green, flat-topped spheric to short cylindric, 4-40(-45)[-250] × 8-30[-80] cm, apical region appearing copiously woolly (shortly velvety in E. texensis) [glabrous]; ribs (7-)8-27[-60+], very prominent, straight (or only slightly undulate), sometimes helically curving around stems, broadly rounded to nearly keeled, rib crests uninterrupted or ± constricted between areoles; areoles widely spaced or confluent with age, nearly circular to oblong, with fertile portion as short, broad adaxial prolongation confluent with spine cluster; areolar glands absent; cortex and pith hard, not mucilaginous. Spines (5-)7-19 per areole, straw colored, pink, red, gray, tan, or brown, conspicuously annulate-ridged, rigid, stiff; radial spines 5-14 per areole, straight to curved, 2-5 cm; central spines 1-4 per areole, straight to curved, terete, flattened, or abaxially ridged. Flowers diurnal, near stem apex, near adaxial edges of short adaxial extensions of areoles, broadly funnelform to nearly salverform (more narrowly funnelform in E. texensis); outer tepals margins entire, apically spinose; inner tepals yellow or pink to magenta, 2.4-3.2 × 0.3-1.5 cm, margins entire, serrate, toothed, or erose; ovary scaly, spineless, copiously woolly, with white or pale tan hairs from areoles hiding ovary and flower tube at anthesis; scales 8-60, margins entire or fimbriate, spine-tipped; stigma lobes 6-14(-17), yellow, pink, or olive, 1-4.5 mm. Fruits either indehiscent or rupturing irregularly, or tardily dehiscent through basal abscission pore, whitish tan to pinkish (bright red in E. texensis), spheric to ovoid or ovoid-cylindric, 10-50 × 10-40[-100] mm, usually nearly dry (strongly succulent in E. texensis), many scaled; axils of scales copiously woolly (wool hiding surface of fruits except in E. texensis), spineless, distal scales spine-tipped; pulp red; floral remnant persistent. Seeds reddish brown to black, spheric, or subreniform to obovoid, 2.4-4.7 mm, shiny or dull; testa cells convex or flat. x = 11.
Life form perennial
Growth form -
Growth support -
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) -
Root system tap-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-10

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Echinocactus unspecified picture
Echinocactus unspecified picture

Distribution

Echinocactus world distribution map, present in United States of America

Identifiers

LSID -
WFO ID wfo-4000012908
COL ID 49H4
BDTFX ID 123847
INPN ID 446529
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Brittonrosea Meyerocactus Echinofossulocactus Emorycactus Echinocactus

Lower taxons

Echinocactus armatissimus Echinocactus candidus Echinocactus debilispinus Echinocactus flexuosus Echinocactus fluctuosus Echinocactus foersteri Echinocactus horizonthalonius Echinocactus hystrichocentrus Echinocactus mammillifer Echinocactus mariposensis Echinocactus neumannianus Echinocactus ochroleucus Echinocactus octacanthus Echinocactus pepinianus Echinocactus platyacanthus Echinocactus praegnacanthus Echinocactus pseudocereus Echinocactus pulverulentus Echinocactus pyramidalis Echinocactus pyramidatus Echinocactus quadrinatus Echinocactus teretispinus Echinocactus tetracentrus Echinocactus heyderi Echinocactus amazonicus Echinocactus centeterius Echinocactus cereiformis Echinocactus cristatus Echinocactus elegans Echinocactus ellemeetii Echinocactus griseispinus Echinocactus hemifossus Echinocactus hexacanthus Echinocactus hexaedrus Echinocactus intricatus Echinocactus jenischianus Echinocactus lancifer Echinocactus lindleya Echinocactus linkeanus Echinocactus macrocephalus Echinocactus mutabilis Echinocactus pachycentrus Echinocactus phyllantoides Echinocactus rapa Echinocactus raphidacanthus Echinocactus raphidocentrus Echinocactus sclerothrix Echinocactus sessiliflorus Echinocactus setosus Echinocactus subniger Echinocactus tribolacanthus Echinocactus trifurcatus Echinocactus urselianus Echinocactus vargasii Echinocactus sickmannii Echinocactus marquinatus Echinocactus acutispinus Echinocactus buchheimianus Echinocactus castaniensis Echinocactus castaniensis Echinocactus confertus Echinocactus criocereus Echinocactus cupulatus Echinocactus darrahii Echinocactus dicracanthus Echinocactus echinatus Echinocactus flavicoma Echinocactus gigas Echinocactus glabrescens Echinocactus hempelianus Echinocactus heynei Echinocactus inflatus Echinocactus junori Echinocactus latispinosus Echinocactus longispinus Echinocactus marisianus Echinocactus martinii Echinocactus melanacanthus Echinocactus micracanthus Echinocactus multangularis Echinocactus olacogonus Echinocactus oreptilis Echinocactus oxyacanthus Echinocactus pelachicus Echinocactus platycarpus Echinocactus plicatilis Echinocactus pluricostatus Echinocactus punctulatus Echinocactus purpureus Echinocactus rebutii Echinocactus retusus Echinocactus rhodanthus Echinocactus rosaceus Echinocactus sparathacanthus Echinocactus spectabilis Echinocactus spinosissimus Echinocactus subgrandicornis Echinocactus tenuiflorus Echinocactus thelephorus Echinocactus elatior Echinocactus towensis Echinocactus villifer Echinocactus weingartianus Echinocactus wilhelmii Echinocactus uruguensis Echinocactus hystrichodes Echinocactus conquades Echinocactus cerebriformis Echinocactus conimamma Echinocactus x contractus Echinocactus merckeri Echinocactus försteri Echinocactus mcdowellii Echinocactus multicostatus Echinocactus multicostatus Echinocactus verutum Echinocactus acanthion Echinocactus adversispinus Echinocactus aureicentrua Echinocactus brachycentrus Echinocactus rotherianus Echinocactus salmii Echinocactus saltensis