unknown cacti from coahuila mexico

mavaz · Post by **mavaz** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 3:40 am

Hi:

I took this picture in a garden. Any Idea?

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c105/mavaz/unknwn.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks

Plantcelot · Post by **Plantcelot** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 6:57 am

Hi mavaz

WOW amazing spines! I saw some pictures of a cactus with very long spines that looks similar, it is the Strawberry Cactus- Echinocereus brandegeei .

Here are some links to compare:

http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/publicatio ... Cactus.jpg

http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/67388/

Prospector · Post by **Prospector** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 3:10 pm

Not sure what it is, but with those spines I would name it Notransplantus v hurtsalot..

Frank

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 3:25 pm

Hi- It's definitely an Echinocereus (well, says I anyhoo)...but exactly which one I can't tell. I'd guess it is a Mexican species and would need to see a flower to get closer than that.

Peterb

mavaz · Post by **mavaz** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:04 am

Well Plancelot, as Peterb say looks like an echinocereus...but brandegeei according with Anderson?s book is only on Baja California...and this one was found on Cautrocienegas Coahuila, Mexico.
I?m very confused with this one. The spine is hard, rect and long, is not so dense as in other echinos...I don?t know...

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 3:47 am

hi mavaz- It looks like Echinocereus triglochidiatus v. gonacanthus to me, somewhat anyway.

Peterb

Plantcelot · Post by **Plantcelot** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 3:48 am

Hello Mavaz

You mentioned that you took the picture in a garden and I see that the plant is potted (not wild) that makes me think that perhaps the plant was purchased by the owner and it could just come from anywhere! A good idea will be to ask the owner about it, maybe they even know it's name.

I just got a new book and as I was browsing it I saw a cactus named Tephrocactus geometricus that looks in shape (oval) like yours but is not supposed to have spines that long. Maybe it could be another variety of Tephrocactus . . .

Perhaps the unusually long spines were developed by the cactus due to extreme weather in order to protect itself and it could be unusual with whatever type of cactus that it could be. I don't really know.

I hope that someone with more cactus knowledge than me could help you out with this.

Plantcelot · Post by **Plantcelot** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 5:37 am

Mavaz perhaps this could be the one. I was searching for cactus from the area of Coahuila Mexico and found this one that is similar to yours:

Ancistrocactus megarhizus - Synonym:Ancistrocactus scheeri,
Habitat:Southern Texas,Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas).

Here are some links with some information and pictures:

http://public.fotki.com/PanosS/ancistro ... ega-5.html

http://www.tosca.si/zvone/cactusbase/a/ ... ri___2.jpg

http://image18.webshots.com/18/8/95/94/ ... fcQ_ph.jpg

Plantcelot · Post by **Plantcelot** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:21 am

This was fun! I think I finally found it

http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/ ... ineus.html

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 3:35 pm

Hi-

E. stramineus has more straw-colored or varicolored spines and somewhat longer stems in age...the plant in mavaz's photo seems old to me. It also seems very stressed out, potbound, and in too much direct sun. Here's a photo of a very long-spined form of E. triglochidiatus v. gonacanthus for comparison:

However, I'm not sure that gonacanthus grows in Coahuila...

Peterb

Post by **daiv** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:38 pm

Yes the plant does seem to be in bad shape. I would lean towards a E. triglochidatus variant as well.

gunhat · Post by **gunhat** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 8:05 pm

Could E. enneacanthus be a possibility - it grows in noth-eastern Mexico:

http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/ ... nthus.html

Here is a google picture, but remember enneacanthus - like most Echinocereus, is very variable:

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:49 pm

Hi Gunnar-

I think that photo may be Echinocereus dubius, not enneacanthus.

Anyway, if you get a chance, Mavaz, to see a flower...if it's small and waxy and long-lived, it's some kind of trigloch, and if it's larger, brighter pink, and shorter-lived, it's closer to enneacanthus/dubius.

Or it's something else.

Peterb

gunhat · Post by **gunhat** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:00 am

E. dubius is a synonym for E. enneacanthus

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:10 pm

Hi Gunnar-

That depends on who you agree with,

.

E. dubius is a distinctly different form with a distinct geographical range. At the very least it is a variety of enneacanthus, but ought still to be recognized. There is way too much lumping going on these days, which becomes glaringly apparent if you actually see true forms of so-called "synonyms" right next to each other. In general, lumping is fairly harmless, except when unique forms that have long stood as recognized varieties and have features which clearly separate them are "lost" in the literature.

Peterb