Echinocereus acifer

Echinocereus acifer
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Echinocereus
Species:	E. acifer
Binomial name
	Echinocereus acifer; ((Otto ex Salm-Dyck) Jacobi
Synonyms
	Cereus acifer Otto ex Salm-Dyck 1850; Echinocereus triglochidiatus var. acifer (Otto ex Salm-Dyck) Bravo 1978; Echinocereus triglochidiatus subsp. acifer (Otto ex Salm-Dyck) U.Guzmán 2003; Echinocereus acifer subsp. acifer; Echinocereus acifer var. brevispinulus Jacobi 1885; Echinocereus acifer var. diversispinus K.Schum. 1898; Echinocereus acifer var. durangensis K.Schum. 1898; Echinocereus acifer var. tenuispinus Jacobi 1885; Echinocereus acifer var. trichacanthus Hildm. 1891; Echinocereus acifer subsp. tubiflorus W.Rischer 1998; Echinocereus acifer subsp. ventanensis W.Rischer 2009; Echinocereus polyacanthus var. densus (Regel) N.P.Taylor 1984; Echinopsis valida var. densa Regel 1852;

Echinocereus acifer is a species of Echinocereus found in Mexico^[1]

Description

The plant sprouts from the base, forming small cushions of 5 to 8 stems. The dark green, cylindrical plant body grows to a height of 10 to 40 cm (3.9 to 15.7 in) and a diameter of 5 to 10 cm (2.0 to 3.9 in). It has 9 to 12 heavily warty, tuberous ribs. The tomentose areoles on new shoots are 1 to 1.5 cm (0.39 to 0.59 in) apart and about 3 mm (0.12 in) in diameter. The thorns are yellow to reddish-brown, later turning gray, with up to 5 central spines surrounded by 10 to 15 radiating marginal spines.

Buds emerge from a woolly white pad with reddish-brown bristles. The funnel-shaped flowers are red on the outside and yellow on the inside, rarely crooked, and measure 8 to 12 cm (3.1 to 4.7 in) long with a diameter of up to 10 cm (3.9 in). Unlike the monoecious flowers of Echinocereus polyacanthus, the flowers of Echinocereus acifer are hermaphroditic and self-pollinating. The stamens are yellow, and the stigma is green to light green. The oval fruits remain greenish, measuring 2 cm (0.79 in) in diameter and 3 cm (1.2 in) in length.^[2]

Distribution

Echinocereus acifer is found in the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, and Durango, typically growing in rocky forest areas, moss, or rock crevices.

Taxonomy

First described as Cereus acifer in 1850 by Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck, Georg Albano von Jacobi reclassified it into the genus Echinocereus in 1856.^[3] The specific epithet acifer comes from the Latin words "acus" (needle) and "-fer" (bearing), referring to the plant's thorniness.^[4]

References

^ "Echinocereus acifer (Otto ex Salm-Dyck) Haage". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
^ Haage, Walther (2008). Kakteen von A bis Z (in German). Köln: Anaconda. p. 120. ISBN 978-3-86647-260-0.
^ Salm-Reifferscheidt, Joseph (1850). "Cactæ in Horto Dyckensi cultæ anno 1849". Henry & Cohen. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.64574. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
^ Dietrich, Albert; Otto, Friedrich (1856). "Allgemeine Gartenzeitung". Biodiversity Heritage Library. Retrieved 2024-06-24.

External links

Media related to Echinocereus acifer at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Echinocereus acifer at Wikispecies

[Plants_of_the_World_Online_j430-1] "Echinocereus acifer (Otto ex Salm-Dyck) Haage". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-05-04.

[m949-2] Haage, Walther (2008). Kakteen von A bis Z (in German). Köln: Anaconda. p. 120. ISBN 978-3-86647-260-0.

[a769-3] Salm-Reifferscheidt, Joseph (1850). "Cactæ in Horto Dyckensi cultæ anno 1849". Henry & Cohen. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.64574. Retrieved 2024-06-24.

[n800-4] Dietrich, Albert; Otto, Friedrich (1856). "Allgemeine Gartenzeitung". Biodiversity Heritage Library. Retrieved 2024-06-24.

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