Echinocereus arizonicus

Echinocereus arizonicus is a species of cactus native to the Chihuahuan Desert region of Chihuahua, southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona, as well as in the Superstition and Mescal Mountains of Central Arizona at elevations between 1400 and 1900 meters.

Description

Plants grow in small clumps. Stems are cylindric with 8–13 ribs, measuring. Areoles are spaced apart. Spines vary, being straight or contorted. Each areole has 1–8 central spines, long, and 7–14 radial spines, long, initially yellowish to brownish but turning gray. Echinocereus arizonicus has deep red to bright orange-red flowers, sometimes with a lighter yellowish-green center,, with a flower tube of that has short spines and hairs. Fruits are green with a brownish tinge,, and have white pulp. The chromosome count is 2n = 22.

Subspecies

Accepted subspecies:

Image	Subspecies	Distribution
	Echinocereus arizonicus subsp. arizonicus	Central Arizona
	Echinocereus arizonicus subsp. matudae	Mexico
	Echinocereus arizonicus subsp. nigrihorridispinus	Arizona to New Mexico
	Echinocereus arizonicus subsp. oldachiorum	Arizona to New Mexico

Distribution

Plants are found growing in desert scrub and grasslands of the Chihuahuan Desert in Arizona, New Mexico in the United States and Chihuahua, Mexico at elevations between 1400 and 1900 meters. Plants are found growing along with Quercus turbinella, Quercus emoryi, Arctostaphylos pungens, Cercocarpus montanus, Nolina microcarpa, Dasylirion wheeleri, Agave chrysantha, Muhlenbergia emersleyi, Pinus monophylla, Juniperus pinchotii and Rhus trilobata.

Taxonomy

Common names include "Arizona claret-cup cactus" and "Arizona hedgehog cactus."