Echinocereus stramineus var. stramineus

Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Treatment on page 162.

Plants branched, forming clumps or compact mounds of 20–100 (–500) branches, clumps 15–60 (–100) cm, either dense or lax. Stems erect, long ovoid, less than 30 × 4.5–11 cm; ribs 10–16; crests slightly undulate; areoles 12–20 (–25) mm apart. Spines 9–14 (–16) per areole, straight, straw colored, ± translucent, often glassy white tinted with yellow, darkest spines sometimes tan or brown; radial spines 7–14 per areole, 15–40 mm; central spines 2–4 (–5) per areole, abaxial central spine strongly projecting, all central spines terete or somewhat flattened, 57–100 mm. Flowers 8–12 × 10–12.5 (–15) cm; flower tube 25–35 × 15–35 mm; flower tube hairs 1–1.5 mm; inner tepals rose-pink to magenta, darkest proximally and/or centrally, 55–60 (–80) × 12–25 mm, tips white to greenish, relatively thin and delicate; anthers yellow; nectar chamber ± 5–8 mm. Fruits bright pinkish brown, with characteristic reticulate pattern of slightly darker or greener color between flattened tubercles, usually 35–40 (–50) mm, pulp white to pale-pink (varying on same plant). 2n = 44.


Phenology: Flowering Mar–Jul; fruiting mostly Aug.
Habitat: Chihuahuan desert scrub, rocky slopes, rarely flats, igneous and sedimentary substrates
Elevation: 500-1800 m

Distribution

V4 310-distribution-map.gif

N.Mex., Tex., Mexico (Chihuahua), Mexico (Coahuila), Mexico (Nuevo León)

Discussion

The densely branched stems of Echinocereus stramineus form hemispheric mounds bristling with unusually long, yellow-tinted spines, thus appearing like a heap of straw; old clumps of these cacti are unique visual dominants on many rocky slopes in the Chihuahuan Desert. The delicious ripe fruits of this species are much larger than those of E. enneacanthus, and may be the largest fruits in the genus. Rare white-flowered individuals occur.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"thin" is not a number.

cushionlike +
circular to linear +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
hourglass--shaped +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
Allan D. Zimmerman +  and Bruce D. Parfitt +
(Engelmann) F. Seitz +
hardened +
Cereus stramineus +
triangular +
20 +  and 100 +
curved +  and straight +
flattened +  and terete +
5.7 cm57 mm <br />0.057 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
60 cm600 mm <br />0.6 m <br /> (100 cm1,000 mm <br />1 m <br />) +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (60 cm600 mm <br />0.6 m <br />) +
mucilaginous +
undulate +
N.Mex. +, Tex. +, Mexico (Chihuahua) +, Mexico (Coahuila) +  and Mexico (Nuevo León) +
500-1800 m +
not separating +
12.5 cm125 mm <br />0.125 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br />) +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
2.6 cm26 mm <br />0.026 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (2.6 cm26 mm <br />0.026 m <br />) +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br />) +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (12.5 cm125 mm <br />0.125 m <br />) +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
brown;bright pinkish +
dehiscent +  and indehiscent +
persistent +, long +  and deciduous +
spheric +  and narrowly obovoid +
3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
Chihuahuan desert scrub, rocky slopes, rarely flats, igneous and sedimentary substrates +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
5.5 cm55 mm <br />0.055 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
rudimentary +
flat +  and terete +
nearly +  and microscopic +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
tuberculate +
fluted;spheric;depressed-spheric or club-shaped +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
smooth +  and tuberculate +
characteristic +
deciduous +  and persistent +
Flowering Mar–Jul +  and fruiting mostly Aug. +
mucilaginous +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
Cat. Cact. Cult., +
white +  and pale-pink +
triangular +
arillate +  and strophiolate +
dark reddish-brown +  and black +
0.4mm;12mm +
rugose +  and tuberculate +
spheric;obovoid +
0.08 cm0.8 mm <br />8.0e-4 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
tuberculate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
brown +, tan +, darkest +, white tinted with yellow +  and straw colored +
straight +
deciduous +
3mm +  and 150mm +
7 (?) +  and 14 (?) +
roughened +  and smooth +
acicular +  and subulate +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
0.01 cm0.1 mm <br />1.0e-4 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
decurrent +
unsegmented +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
yellow-green +  and dark green +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br />) +
succulent +
4.5cm;11cm +
yellowish green +  and green +
tuberculate +
Echinocereus enneacanthus var. stramineus +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Echinocereus stramineus var. stramineus +
Echinocereus stramineus +
variety +
dull +  and glossy +
white +  and greenish +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
greener color +  and darker +
flattened +
epiphytic;epiphytic;epiphytic +
decumbent +, pendent +, sprawling +, ascending +  and erect +
barrel-shaped +  and spheric +