Xerophyte

Central Spines

4 spreading, 6-7,5 cm long, lowest one curving slightly downward, others more or less straight and flattened.

Seeds

Angled, papillose, dull black, 3 to 4 mm, long; hilurn large, lateral but below the middle of the seed; embryo curved, the cotyledons buried in the large albumen.

Note

The juvenile Echinocactus looks quite different from the mature specimens. In fact, as with other Echinocactus and Ferocactus seedlings, the rib structure is not yet apparent, and they have pronounced tubercles making them look superficially like Mammillarias. This Echinocactus is unique because it branches under normal conditions. The dense, stout spines obscure the plant bodies and restrict the small yellow flowers from opening fully. The brown spines appear bright red when wet from rain.

Polycephaly is the condition of having more than one head. The term is derived from the Greek stems poly (Greek

Flowers

Produced at the stems apex, yellow with pink midribs, 5 to 6 cm. long and in diameter; scales on the ovary minute, hidden under the mass of long wool borne in their axils; scales on the flower-tube numerous, only a little longer than the wool, chartaceous, pungent; inner perianth-segments linear-oblong, 2,5 to 3 cm long, entire, obtuse; style slender.

Blooming Season

Summer (In its native habitat habitat bloom in July) and seeds mature about a month later.

Chromosome Number

2n = 22

Spines

Dense, obscuring the stems, 7 to 15 per areole, subulate, more or less flattened, strongly cross-striated, when young covered with a downy felt but afterwards glabrate, yellow, pale grey tinged with red, or pink or light purplish after the felt peels off,.

Stem

Globular to short cylindrical, 10-12 cm in diameter, sometimes as much as 70 cm high but usually smaller (30-60 cm).Ribs 13 to 21, rather stout, narrow and acute, 2 to 3 cm. high, some-what undulate, nearly hidden under the dense spine armament.

Radial Spines

6 to 8, shorter 2,5 to 5 cm long spreading irregularly, similar to centrals.

Fruits

Globose to oblong, 1,5 to 2,5 cm long, heavily covered with white hairs, crowned by the somewhat spinescent scales, The fruit dries slowly at maturity and may persist on the plant for several months and dehisce by a basal pore through which the seeds pass easily.

Areoles

Large, 10 to 12 mm in diameter, 1 to 3,5 cm. apart.