Echinocereus laui

Echinocereus laui is a species of cactus native to Mexico.

Description

Echinocereus laui forms clusters of up to 20 cylindrical shoots, each reaching up to in height and in diameter. These shoots have 14 to 16 low ribs with small cusps. The plant features four reddish-brown central spines, up to long, and 18 to 21 bristle-like white radial spines, long.
Its narrow, funnel-shaped pink flowers bloom near the tips of the shoots, measuring in length and in diameter. The spherical fruits are brownish-green, covered with wool and thin brown thorns.

Distribution

Echinocereus laui is found in oak forests, rock outcrops, and grasslands in eastern Sonora and western Chihuahua in Mexico, within the Sierra Madre Occidental at elevations of. It is found growing along with Cochemiea barbata.

Taxonomy

Gerhard R. W. Frank first described the species in 1978, naming it after Alfred Bernhard Lau, its discoverer.