Echinocereus engelmannii var. armatus
Cact. Succ. J. (Los Angeles) 41: 33. 1969
Family
Cactaceae
Genus
Species
Echinocereus engelmannii var. armatus
Author
L.D.Benson
Chinese genus
鹿角柱属
Chinese name
-
Accepted
DescriptionEdit description
Habit
It is a clumping columnar cactus, 6-25-branched, ultimately forming somewhat open clumps of stems.
Description
Echinocereus engelmanni var armatus is the most formidably spiny extreme of the species.
Flowers
From purple to lavender. The flowers are up to 7 cm in diameter, 5-8 cm long . Flower tube hairy.
Blooming Season
Spring, flowers are diurnal close at night and reopen in the morning and last for about five days.
Spines
8-20 per areole up to 13 cm long; divergent-porrect, stout, and rigid, straight or curving and somewhat twisted, brownish-pink or (usually) dull golden-yellow.
Ribs
11 to 14 low obtuse, tubercles indistinct, crests slightly undulate.
Stem
Suberect or erect light green, cylindrical or somewhat tapering distally, usually 15-20 cm tall, and about 5 cm in diameter, branching freely from the base;
Radial Spines
Lighter whitish to creamy coloured 8-20 mm long long, spreading.
Fruits
Red or orangish 2,5-4cm long, spherical, fleshy, pulp whitish be-coming infused with pink or red from the skin. The fruit is edible, it is said to taste like strawberry.
Areoles
6-15 mm apart, wool present in first year only.