Echinocereus reichenbachii
Echinocereus reichenbachii | |
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var. reichenbachii | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
Genus: | Echinocereus |
Species: | E. reichenbachii
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Binomial name | |
Echinocereus reichenbachii | |
Synonyms[3] | |
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Echinocereus reichenbachii (commonly known as lace or hedgehog cactus) is a
E. reichenbachii is one of the smaller Echinocereus species. They reach 7.5 to 30 centimetres (3.0 to 11.8 in) tall and 4 to 10 centimetres (1.6 to 3.9 in) wide. Plants are solitary or clustered in as many as 12, with erect stems that have 10 to 19 ribs. The stems are dark green and often obscured by the spines, which range from tan, brown, black, or pink, and the tips are usually darker than the shaft. The areoles are elliptical or oval, with seven to 36 spines each. The purple or pink flowers bloom in early May to late June, growing to approximately 4.5 to 8 centimetres (1.8 to 3.1 in) by 5 to 10 centimetres (2.0 to 3.9 in). E. reichenbachii are cold and heat tolerant, and prefer dry, well-drained soils near rock outcroppings.
Taxonomy
The scientific name,
In 1843, German botanist Carl Adolf Terscheck named a specimen of cactus collected in Mexico Echinocactus reichenbachii, but his description was incomplete and proved unhelpful to later scholars. During the years 1848 to 1856, George Engelmann made extensive studies of a plant he named Echinocereus caespitosus.[7] Prior to this Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck referred to plants in European collections as Echinopsis pectinate var. reichenbachiana, and he later discussed the possibility with Engelmann that these two plants were one and the same.[8]
Despite the early indication of a naming error, Engelmann's binomial was used to describe the plant until 1893, when F.A. Haage Jr. changed Terscheck's Echinocactus reichenbachii to Echinocereus reichenbachii, which Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose later adopted. This broke with the long-standing botanical tradition to use the earliest known name, but because Terscheck's description was lacking and possibly referred to as many as a dozen species, his binomial was supplanted by Haage's.[8]
Variations and subspecies
Variations of Echinocereus reichenbachii include E. reichenbachii var. albertii, E. reichenbachii var. fitchii, E. reichenbachii var. albispinus, E. reichenbachii subsp. armatus, E. reichenbachii subsp. burrensis, and E. reichenbachii subsp. fitchii. Direct children include E. reichenbachii var. baileyi, which is endemic to the Wichita Mountains of southwest Oklahoma, E. reichenbachii var. perbellus, and E. reichenbachii var. reichenbachii.[9]
E. reichenbachii var. albertii (commonly called the Black Lace cactus) is a federally listed endangered species of the United States that is endemic to Texas.[10] It has been listed as endangered since 1979. Populations of E. reichenbachii var. albertii are found near the Kleberg, Jim Wells, and Refugio counties of south Texas.[11] Destruction of habitat, over-collecting, and livestock grazing have all contributed to its endangered status.[12]
Description
Echinocereus reichenbachii is a
Plants flower in early May and late June, and they fruit 6 to 10 weeks after flowering.
Native habitat
E. reichenbachii's native habitat includes the entirety of the Chihuahuan Desert and its nearby grasslands, as well as in woodlands of oak and juniper. They grown at elevations up to 1,500 meters (4,900 ft).[13] In the United States, E. reichenbachii is native to Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Nebraska.[2] They are also found in Kansas and Oklahoma. The variety found in Oklahoma, E. reichenbachii baileyi, have especially long "bristlelike" spines.[13] E. reichenbachii is native to the northern Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.[13]
Cultivation and propagation
E. reichenbachii prefer full sun and require little water. They thrive in dry, well-drained, gravelly, clay, and loam soils, and near rock outcroppings. They are cold and heat tolerant, and grow well under glass.[14] They are drought resistant, but susceptible to mealybugs and scale insects.[15]
Propagation is facilitated by seeds collected as the fruits begin to dry. The species is used in commercial landscaping as ornamental features, particularly in desert environments. Plants are considered deer resistant.[6] E. reichenbachii earned the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[15][16]
Gallery
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Echinocereus reichenbachii
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Flower
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E. reichenbachii var. baileyi
References
- ^ NatureServe (2023). "Echinocereus reichenbachii". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ a b c United States Department of Agriculture.
- ^ Echinocereus reichenbachii (Terscheck) Haage. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ^ Holloway & Neill 2005, p. 60.
- ^ a b c d Powell & Weedin 2004, p. 245.
- ^ a b c d Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center.
- ^ Weniger 1969, p. 20.
- ^ a b Weniger 1969, p. 21.
- ^ Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ Texas Parks and Wildlife, pp. 1–24.
- ^ Texas Parks and Wildlife (b).
- ^ Center for Plant Conservation.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Flora of North America.
- ^ Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center; Royal Horticultural Society: loam soil and grown under glass.
- ^ a b Royal Horticultural Society.
- ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 34. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
Bibliography
- "CPC National Collection Plant Profile: Echinocereus reichenbachii var. albertii", Center for Plant Conservation, retrieved September 14, 2015
- Holloway, Joel Ellis; Neill, Amanda (2005), Neill, Amanda (ed.), A Dictionary of Common Wildflowers of Texas & the Southern Great Plains (Illustrated ed.), TCU Press, ISBN 978-0-87565-309-9
- "Echinocereus reichenbachii", Flora of North America, vol. 4, p. 173
- "Echinocereus reichenbachii", Integrated Taxonomic Information System, retrieved September 11, 2015
- "Native Plant Database: Echinocereus reichenbachii", Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin, retrieved September 12, 2015
- Powell, A. Michael; Weedin, James (2004), Cacti of the Trans-Pecos & Adjacent Areas: Grover E. Murray Studies in the American Southwest Series (Illustrated ed.), Texas Tech University Press, ISBN 978-0-89672-531-7
- "Echinocereus reichenbachii", Royal Horticultural Society, retrieved September 11, 2015
- "Black Lace Cactus (Echinocereus reichenbachii var. albertii): 5-year Review: Summary and Evaluation" (PDF), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; United States Fish and Wildlife Service; Corpus Christi Ecological Services Field Office, retrieved September 14, 2015
- "Black Lace Cactus (Echinocereus reichenbachii var. albertii)", Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, retrieved September 14, 2015
- "Plant Profile: Echinocereus reichenbachii", United States Department of Agriculture, retrieved September 11, 2015
- Weniger, Del (1969), Cacti of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana (Illustrated ed.), University of Texas Press, ISBN 978-0-292-70000-0
External links
- Media related to Echinocereus reichenbachii at Wikimedia Commons