Echinocereus pectinatus | |
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Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
Genus: | Echinocereus |
Species: | E. pectinatus
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Binomial name | |
Echinocereus pectinatus | |
Synonyms | |
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Echinocereus pectinatus is a species of hedgehog cactus.
Echinocereus pectinatus is an upright, spherical to cylindrical cactus, typically solitary, growing 8 to 35 cm (3.1 to 13.8 in) long and 3 to 13 cm (1.2 to 5.1 in) in diameter. The plant is covered in comb-shaped thorns forming white and pink zones. It has 12 to 23 blunt ribs with dense, elliptical, white felted areoles about 3 mm (0.12 in) long. The 12 to 30 radial spines are comb-shaped, slightly bent back, 5 to 15 mm (0.20 to 0.59 in) long, and tinted whitish to pink. The 1 to 5 central spines range from yellowish to pink to brownish and are 1 to 25 mm (0.039 to 0.984 in) long. The funnel-shaped flowers are 5 to 15 cm (2.0 to 5.9 in) in diameter, deep pink, and appear on the side of the trunk. The flower tube has white tomentose thorns on the outside. The round to elliptical purple fruits are fleshy and thorny. [2]
There are three accepted subspecies:
Found in the Mexican states of Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, and in the south-western US ( New Mexico and Texas) at elevations of 400 to 1900 meters. [3] [4]
First described in 1838 by Michael Joseph François Scheidweiler as Echinocactus pectinatus, the species was reclassified by George Engelmann into the genus Echinocereus in 1848. [5] [6] The specific epithet "pectinatus," meaning "combed" in Latin, refers to the arrangement of the thorns. [7]