Echinocereus berlandieri

Echinocereus berlandieri is a species of hedgehog cactus. Its range includes most of South Texas, and is commonly found along the Nueces River and the lower Rio Grande.

Description

Echinocereus berlandieri grows with many shoots and forms groups up to 1 meter in diameter. The dark green to somewhat purple-green, cylindrical shoots that taper towards their base are prostrate or have upright tips. They are long and reach a diameter of. There are five to seven ribs with barely any hint of humps. The one to three strong, outward-facing, yellowish to dark brown central spines are long. The six to nine whitish marginal spines are long.
The broadly funnel-shaped flowers are pink to reddish purple and appear below the tips of the shoots. They are long and reach a diameter of up to. The egg-shaped, green fruits are long. The thorns on it fall off.

Distribution

Echinocereus berlandieri is widespread in the United States in the south of Texas and in the neighboring Mexican states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas at altitudes of up to 600 meters.

Taxonomy

The first description as Cereus berlandieri by George Engelmann was published in 1856. The specific epithet berlandieri honors the plant collector Jean-Louis Berlandier. Friedrich Adolph Haage placed the species in the genus Echinocereus in 1859.