Echinocereus enneacanthus

Echinocereus enneacanthus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Echinocereus
Species:	E. enneacanthus
Binomial name
Echinocereus enneacanthus Engelm.
Synonyms
Cereus enneacanthus(Engelm.) Engelm.

Echinocereus enneacanthus is a species of flowering plant first described by George Engelmann. ^{[1] [2]}

Description

Echinocereus enneacanthus forms low cushions with 30 to 200 shoots. The cloudy to light green, cylindrical shoots, which are prostrate except for the tips, are up to two meters (6 ft 7 in) meters long and have a diameter of 3.5 to 15 cm (1.4 to 5.9 in). There are seven to ten ribs that are not clearly tuberculated. The one to four straight or curved, round to flattened, angular or furrowed central spines are yellowish to brownish or bluish. They are up to 8 cm (3.1 in) long. The six to 13 straight, whitish to brownish marginal spines are up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long.^{[ citation needed ]}

The funnel-shaped flowers are magenta colored and have a darker throat. They appear below the shoot tips, are up to 8 cm (3.1 in) long and reach a diameter of 8 to 12 cm (3.1 to 4.7 in). The spherical to egg-shaped fruits contain pink flesh and taste like strawberries. ^[3]

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  Plant
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  Flowers

Subspecies

This species is divided into the following subspecies: ^[1]

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
	Echinocereus enneacanthus var. carnosus(Rümpler) J.Neumann	Texas and Mexico
	Echinocereus enneacanthus var. enneacanthus	Texas and Mexico

Distribution

Echinocereus enneacanthus is distributed in the United States in the state of Texas and New Mexico is also found in northeast Mexico in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Coahuila and Zacatecas at elevations of 0 to 1800 meters. ^[4] Plants are found growing in limestone soil in grasslands along with Echinocereus stramineus , Echinocereus chisoensis , Echinocereus dasyacanthus , Mammillaria lasiacantha , Lophophora diffusa , and Neolloydia conoidea . ^[5]

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  Echinocereus enneacanthus carnosus in Langtry, Texas
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  Plants growing in Villa Arista, San Luis Potosi
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  Plants growing near Estacion Vanegas
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  Plants growing in habitat with Neolloydia conoidea in Parras De La Fuente, Coahuila

Taxonomy

The first description by George Engelmann was published in 1848. The specific epithet enneacanthus means 'nine-spined'. ^[6] Common names include “Alicoche,” “Banana Cactus,” “Cob Cactus,” “Green Strawberry Hedgehog,” “Pitaya,” “Prostrate Hedgehog Cactus,” “Purple Pitaya,” “Strawberry Cactus,” and “Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus.” A nomenclature synonym is Cereus enneacanthus (Engelm.) Engelm. (1849). ^[7]

References

1. "Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2014 Annual Checklist". Species 2000: Reading, UK. 2014. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
2. "ITIS Standard Report Page: Echinocereus enneacanthus". www.itis.gov. Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
3. Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. pp. 196–197. ISBN   3-8001-4573-1.
4. "Echinocereus enneacanthus Engelm. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
5. "Echinocereus enneacanthus". LLIFLE. 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2025-11-11.  This article incorporates textfrom this source, which is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
6. Wislizenus, F. A. (1848). Memoir of a tour to northern Mexico :connected with Col. Doniphan's expedition, in 1846 and 1847 /by A. Wislizenus. Washington: Tippin & Streeper. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.41509.
7. Arts, American Academy of (1849). "Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences". The Academy. ISSN   0096-6134 . Retrieved 2023-10-28.

External links

• Media related to Echinocereus enneacanthus at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Echinocereus enneacanthus at Wikispecies