Echinocereus enneacanthus
Echinocereus viridiflorus
alicoche, Mexican strawberry pitaya, pitaya, smallspine pitaya, strawberry cactus
green pitaya, nylon hedgehog cactus, small-flower h edgehog cactus
some-what lax often sprawling, longest stems sometimes prostrate, cylindric, 8–40(–100?) × 3.2–15 cm;
ribs (6–)7–10(–12), crests essentially uninterrupted;
areoles (11–)14–52 mm apart.
erect, spheric to short cylindric, (3–)8–30(–35) × 2.8–9 cm;
ribs 10–20, crests prominent, slightly to conspicuously undulate;
areoles 3–12 mm apart.
6–14 per areole, straight or central spines slightly curved throughout their lengths, ± opaque, white, pale tan, or purplish gray, often extensively tipped or banded with brown;
radial spines 5–10(–13) per areole, 9.5–40(–47) mm, usually less than 1/2 as long as central spines;
central spines 1–4(–5) per areole, all or mostly projecting, abaxial spine porrect or descending, frequently compressed or angular in cross section (sometimes sulcate, keeled, or striate), (12–)20–84(–96) mm.
(13–)18–30(–55) per areole, stiff (flexible) and straight (or slightly curved), sometimes pectinately arranged, red-and-white, red-and-yellow, yellow-and-white, whitish, yellowish, or purplish, tips often darker;
radial spines 12–38(–45) per areole, appressed to spreading, (2–)4–18 mm;
central spines 0–17 per areole, spreading to projecting, terete (subulate), 3–5–40 mm.
(4.5–)5–7.5 × 5–5.6(–9) cm;
flower tube 10–30 × 10–22(–40) mm;
flower tube hairs 1–2 mm;
inner tepals pink or magenta, darkest proximally, 28–55 × 8–14(–20) mm, tips relatively thin and delicate;
anthers yellow;
nectar chamber 4–6 mm.
2–3.5 × (1–)1.5–3 cm;
flower tube (4–)5–12 × 5–15 mm;
flower tube hairs 1–2 mm;
inner tepals shades of yellow or brown, frequently tending towards yellowish green or brick red (rarely carmine in Davis Mountains populations), often with darker purplish maroon midstripes, 10–25 × 2–4 mm, tips relatively thin and delicate;
anthers yellow;
nectar chamber 1–2[–3] mm.
pale yellow-green or dull reddish, 20–30 mm, pulp white or pale pink.
yellowish green to dark green, dark purple, or reddish tinged, 6–17 mm, pulp white.
= 22.
= 22.
Echinocereus enneacanthus
Echinocereus viridiflorus
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
The commonly recognized concept of Echinocereus enneacanthus var. enneacanthus (W. O. Moore 1967; D. Weniger 1970; L. D. Benson 1982) pertained to the small eastern var. brevispinus.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
A large number of infraspecific taxa have been recognized within Echinocereus viridiflorus, differing in various combinations of flower color, spine color, number and thickness of central spines, and other characters, including floral scent. Populations of E. viridiflorus with the most numerous central spines (five or more per areole), giving the plants a bristly appearance, are often considered a separate species, E. chloranthus. Wherever such taxa are sympatric they intergrade; all are freely interfertile in the greenhouse.
The common morphotype at middle altitudes in Texas and southeastern New Mexico has 0–2(–3) central spines and is called either Echinocereus viridiflorus var. cylindricus (Engelmann) Rümpler or E. chloranthus var. cylindricus (Engelmann) N. P. Taylor. Typical E. viridiflorus (var. viridiflorus), with small stems and relatively pure yellow flowers, extends from central New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle to South Dakota. One of the segregate taxa, Echinocereus chloranthus var. neocapillus D. Weniger, is remarkable for its softly hairy, not sharply spiny, seedlings. Populations of E. viridiflorus from Big Bend National Park, usually with reddish or russet flowers, have been named E. russanthus D. Weniger. Yellow-spined plants may occur at high altitudes. A poorly defined, yellow-spined population near Marathon, Texas, has been named E. viridflorus var. correllii L. D. Benson. Bristly red-spined plants from New Mexico have recently been segregated as E. chloranthus subsp. rhyolithensis W. Blum & Mich. Lange.
Echinocereus viridiflorus in the broad sense may prove paraphyletic with respect to E. davisii, but they are phenologically isolated, with E. davisii flowering earlier and thus appearing reproductively isolated in the wild.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stems (5-)8-14(-15) cm diam.; radial spines 5-8(-9) per areole; central spines 56-84(-96) mm | var. enneacant |
1. Stems slender 3.2-4.5(-7.5) cm diam.; radial spines 8-10(-13) per areole; central spines (12-)20-44(-50) mm | var. brevispin |
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
KS Wildflowers
