Xerophyte

Habit

It is a clumping columnar cactus, 3-60-branched, ultimately forming somewhat open clumps of stems which can spread out as large as 1m in size.

Central Spines

4 to 6 whitish or greyish, dull golden-yellow, or reddish brown to nearly black, 5-7(-8) cm long, divergent-porrect

Phenology

Spring (February to April), flowers are diurnal close at night and reopen in the morning and last for about five days.

Flowers

The more common form has bright pink flowers (Often varying from paler to darker in same population) but some varieties have different colours, from purple to lavender. The flowers are up to 7 cm in diameter, 5-13 cm long . Flower tube hairy. Anthers yellow, Stigma green in the centre.

Chromosome Number

Echinocereus engelmannii is tetraploid 2n = 44 (whereas the related Echinocereus nicholiiSN|21818]] is diploid 2n = 22)

Spines

8-20 per areole, usually straight (curved and twisted in desert mountains and peninsular ranges of California), individual spines with broad zones of different colours.

Ribs

11 to 14 low obtuse, tubercles indistinct, crests slightly undulate.

Stem

Mostly erect light green, cylindrical or somewhat tapering distally, 10-30 (or more up to 60 cm) cm tall, 5-10 cm diameter, branching freely from the base;

Radial Spines

8 to 20 (or more) mm long .

Fruits

Red or orangish 2.5-4 cm long, spherical, fleshy, pulp whitish be-coming infused with pink or red from the skin. Spine clusters deciduous. The fruit is edible (if you can reach through the spines). It is said to taste like strawberry, and is eaten readily by birds and rodents. Fruiting May-Jul.

Areoles

6-15 mm apart, wool present in first year only.