Echinocereus caespitosus var. reichenbachii (Echinocereus reichenbachii) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli
Flowers are gigantic intense hot pink-purple, abundant and scented, 5-7 cm long.
Origin and Habitat: This species is distributed in Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas); United States (Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas). The species is very common and abundant.
Altitude range: From sea level to 1,500 metres above sea level.
Habitat and Ecology: The species is found in grasslands, thorn shrublands and mesquite woodlands. It occurs in shrubland/chaparral, grassland/herbaceous in gravelly, rocky, or sandy soils of various origins: Lime-stone, granite. The species is used as an ornamental, and is common in trade. There are no major threats for the species, however, land use change and fire affect some subpopulations.
Description: Echinocereus reichenbachiiSN|7575]]SN|7575]] is a slowly branching cylindrical shaped cactus more or less cespitose with up to 12 branches covered strongly pectinate, appressed truly lacy spines. The flowers are very showy, fragrant, produced in profusion, rather variable as to size, often 6 to 7 cm long and fully as broad, opening during the day, always closing at night and sometimes opening the second day, purple. The basis of flowers are clothed with dense greyish wool. It is a distinct species with six subspecies: the nominate form, subsp. armatus (Poselg.) N.P.Taylor, subsp. baileyi (Rose) N.P.Taylor, subsp. burrensis G.Frank, Metorn & E.Scherer, subsp. fitchii (Britton & Rose) N.P.Taylor and subsp. perbellus (Britton & Rose) N.P.Taylor.
Stem: Erect, simple or commonly branched to form cluster of up to 12 upright stems, globose when very young, elongate or short cylindrical when mature, (2.5)7-20(-40) cm tall, (2,5-) 5-9(-10) cm in diameter dark green.
Ribs: 10-19 narrow, definite, straight or slightly undulate divided into distinct tubercles.
Areoles: Elliptic elongated vertically, approximate, 1.5-3 mm long, 1-6(-10) mm apart, quite woolly when young, and bare when older
Radial spines: 20 to 36, rigid, slender, straight, spreading to slightly curved, held closely against the the ribs of the stems, organized in 2 series, pectinately arranged or nearly so, 5 to 8 mm long. Top ones very tiny, almost bristlelike; laterals more robust; lower 1-3 somewhat smaller; spines of adjacent clusters often interlocking. Multi-coloured, white to tan, dull pink, dark brown, or purplish black, white with brown tips, yellowish with brown tips, or outer half black or purplish; spines of any single areole never variegated, but usually those of each individual plant of one colour.
Central spines: 0 to 7, but usually absent. If present usually only 1 central standing straight out, or 2 centrals, one above the other; these stout, firm, small, like the radials,0.5-6 mm long (rarely more), often darker yellowish with a brown tip, at first, whitish on older areoles.
Flowers: Beautiful, very large, abundant, diurnal, scented, intense pink to purple, 5 to 12 cm long and fully as broad. Flower tube 22-40 × 10-30 mm covered with white, cobwebby wool, 5-15 mm long, and clusters of 10-14 very fine, hairlike, white, grey, or black spines c 6 mm long. Outer segments lengthen gradually, with greenish or brownish mi lines and pink edges. Inner perianth-segments 30-50 (or more) narrow, often reflexed, silvery pink to magenta, usually white, crimson, green, or multicoloured at base, 23-40 × 5-15 mm, tips relatively thin, delicate rather blunt to almost entire and definitely pointed, the margin more or less ragged, often notched. Filaments pinkish or reddish fading above; anthers cream-colored to yellow. Nectar chamber 2-5 mm. Style long reddish or pinkish, crowned by 8-22 large, dark green stigma lobes.
Blooming season: Early May to Late June.
Fruits: Ovoid or almost spherical, green, olive green, or dark green, 10-28 mm long, covered with slender spines and wool, fruiting 1.5-2.5 months after flowering.
Seeds: Black, nearly globose, 1.2 to 1.4 mm. in diameter.
Chromosome number: 2n = 22.
Similar species: This species is similar to Echinocereus pectinatusSN|8503]]SN|8503]] but its spines are net not so extremely pressed against the plant or quite so heavy as Echinocereus pectinatusSN|8503]]SN|8503]]. Echinocereus reichenbachiiSN|7575]]SN|7575]] has much long wool, extremely thin, flexible, hairlike spines up to 18 mm long on flower tube and remaining on fruit. E. pectinatus has shorter wool, comparatively thick, rigid spines up to 9 mm long.
More...Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) Nathaniel Lord Britton, Joseph Nelson Rose “Cactaceae: Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family” Volume 3, 1922
2) Edward F. Anderson (2001) “ The Cactus Family”.
2) Curt Backeberg “Cactus Lexicon” Sterling Publishing Company, Incorporated, 1978
3) David Hunt, Nigel Taylor “The New Cactus Lexicon” DH Books, 2006
4) Del Weniger “Cacti of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana” University of Texas Press, 1969
5) James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey “The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated in Europe, Both Out-of-Doors and Under GlassCambridge University Press, 11/August/2011
6) Lyman David Benson “The Cacti of the United States and Canada” Stanford University Press, 1982
7) Terry, M. & Heil, K. 2013. Echinocereus reichenbachii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T151886A572535. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T151886A572535.en. Downloaded on 13 February 2016.
8) A. Michael Powell, James F. Weedin “Cacti of the Trans-Pecos & Adjacent Areas” Texas Tech University Press, 2004
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