All the information and photos in cactus art file are now available also in the new the Enciclopedia of Cacti. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.

Echinocereus knippelianus
 

A particularity of this plant is that the buds emerge through the plant's skin above an areole, rather than arising from areoles or axils between areoles as in other cacti.
 

The pale pink flowers are produced in spring.

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Scientific name:  Echinocereus knippelianus Liebner 1895.

TL: Unknown [Relocated in Sierra Parras, Coahuila, Mexico].

Origin:  Mexico, Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains (Coahuila, Nuevo Leon) at over 2200 m elevation.

Habitat: This high mountain cactus is found growing in the semi-shade of rocks and pines.

Conservation status: Listed in CITES appendix II.

Synonyms:  

• Echinocereus liebnerianus* Liebner ex Schumann 1896b:262
  nom. nud.
• Echinocereus inermis* Haage ex Hirscht 1898 pro syn.
• Cereus knippelianus (Liebner) Orcutt 1902
• Echinocereus knippelianus var. kruegeri Glass & Foster 1978
• Echinocereus knippelianus var. reyesii Lau 1980b

Description: Solitary or slowly clumping cacti.
Stem: Plump, soft, flattened or globose , dark green with slightly lighter ridges, up to 10 cm tall, 8 cm in diameter.
Ribs: 5 to 7 ribs, either tuberculate or slightly wavy, separated by broad furrows.
Areoles: Small with whitish felt, 5 mm inches apart.
Spines: Nearly spineless,  with 1 to 3 thin yellow spines, 3 to 15 mm long.
Flowers: Pink or white funnel-shaped flowers, 2.5-4 cm long, up to 6 cm in diameter, appearance in spring and summer. Flowers push through the body from the crown.
Fruit: Green berries near the stem tip
Root: Thick tuberous root that pulls the plant below ground to avoid the hot sun.
 

It is a plump green species with few weak spines.

Cultivation: In culture E. knippellianus is without problems and regularly shows its pink flowers, if we provide an adequate winter rest period. It is sensitive to over-watering (rot prone), and needs good drainage.  Fertilize with half- strength liquid fertilizer in summer.  Keep drier and cool in winter. Needs full sun. Very cold resistant, hardy to -12° C or less for short periods of time.

Propagation: Seeds or cutting (if available)

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of Echinopsis knippelianus.

• E. knippelianus: plump green body, big taproot, bristly spines. Pink flowers at the sides.
• E. knippelianus v. krugeri: miniature form with fat green body, soft bristly spines, whitish or flesh-coloured flowers at centre
• E. knippelianus v. reyesii: Fat green bodies, stiffer spines. Larger, deep pink flowers at centre.

All the information and photos in cactus art file are now available also in the new the Enciclopedia of Cacti. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.