Flora of North America species comparison

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Echinocereus pectinatus

Echinocereus ledingii

Mexican comb hedgehog, rainbow cactus

Leding's hedgehog cactus
Habit Plants 4–15-branched, forming rather open clumps.
Stems

erect, cylindric, 15–50 × 6–8 cm;

ribs 12–14(–16), crests slightly undulate;

areoles 15–25 mm apart.
Spines

10–16 per areole, mostly straight or central spines strongly curving down near base;

radial spines 9–11 per areole, pale to golden yellow, aging darker colored or black, 12–15 mm;

central spines 1(–5) per areole, all yellow or whitish, terete, 20–25 mm.
Flowers

5–6 × 5–6 cm;

flower tube 15–20 × 15–25 mm;

flower tube hairs 2 mm;

inner tepals magenta to rose-pink, darker proximally, 30 × 5–12 mm, tips relatively thin and delicate;

anthers yellow;

nectar chamber 5–8 mm.
Fruits

green, sometimes tinged reddish to brownish, 20–30 mm, pulp white.
2n

= 22.

Echinocereus pectinatus

Echinocereus ledingii
Phenology Flowering May–Jun; fruiting 3 1/2 months after flowering.
Habitat Rocky mountainsides, interior chaparral, oak woodland, igneous substrates
Elevation 1200-2000 m (3900-6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
TX; n Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (1 in the flora).

At least in the United States, Echinocereus pectinatus (diploid) has only pink or purple flowers, unlike the polymorphic species E. dasyacanthus (tetraploid). Echinocereus pectinatus differs from the entire E. reichenbachii species group in that the areoles of its relatively thick-walled flower tube have stouter spines and much shorter hairs. Superficially similar species west of the Continental Divide, formerly associated with E. pectinatus (E. pseudopectinatus, E. rigidissimus, and some Sonoran species), are more closely related to the E. reichenbachii species group with densely bristly flower buds and delicate, ephemeral inner tepals. Echinocereus pectinatus var. pectinatus is endemic to Mexico; reports from the United States were misidentifications of var. wenigeri, E. pseudopectinatus (in Arizona), and unusually short-spined plants of E. dasyacanthus.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

More than half of the localities formerly attributed to Echinocereus ledingii (H. Bravo-H. and H. Sánchez-M. 1998–1991, vol. 3; L. D. Benson 1969) are undocumented and highly suspect. The decurved or deflexed central spines, supposedly diagnostic for this rare species, are misleadingly duplicated in many individuals of E. coccineus and E. arizonicus, and only the latter two species have been found in most of the mountain ranges mapped by A. A. Nichol for L. D. Benson. Echinocereus ledingii is found in the Graham (Pinaleño), Santa Theresa, and Chiricahua mountains.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 4. FNA vol. 4, p. 167.
Parent taxa Cactaceae > subfam. Cactoideae > Echinocereus Cactaceae > subfam. Cactoideae > Echinocereus
Sibling taxa
E. arizonicus, E. berlandieri, E. bonkerae, E. chisosensis, E. coccineus, E. dasyacanthus, E. davisii, E. engelmannii, E. enneacanthus, E. fasciculatus, E. fendleri, E. ledingii, E. nicholii, E. papillosus, E. pentalophus, E. poselgeri, E. pseudopectinatus, E. reichenbachii, E. rigidissimus, E. stramineus, E. triglochidiatus, E. viridiflorus
E. arizonicus, E. berlandieri, E. bonkerae, E. chisosensis, E. coccineus, E. dasyacanthus, E. davisii, E. engelmannii, E. enneacanthus, E. fasciculatus, E. fendleri, E. nicholii, E. papillosus, E. pectinatus, E. pentalophus, E. poselgeri, E. pseudopectinatus, E. reichenbachii, E. rigidissimus, E. stramineus, E. triglochidiatus, E. viridiflorus
Subordinate taxa
E. pectinatus var. wenigeri
Synonyms Echinocactus pectinatus E. fendleri var. ledingii
Name authority (Scheidweiler) Engelmann: in F. A. Wislizenus, Mem. Tour N. Mexico, 109. (1848) Peebles: Cact. Succ. J. (Los Angeles) 8: 35, figs. (1936)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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