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E. coccineus var. roemeri DJF1306
Llano Co. TX USA (MG 191,29)
Some are difficult to see until
the bright orange-red blooms in Spring make them impossible to miss!
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An hermaphroditic flower |
Description:
Usually densely caespitose, often in large colonies up to 1 m in
diameter, containing sometimes 200 or more simple stems.
Stems: Dark green, ovoid to cylindrical, 20-40 cm tall, 3 to 5
in diameter .
Ribs: 8 to 11 somewhat tuberculed.
Spines: ± Acicular, mostly undifferentiated between radials and
centrals;
Radial spines: (5-)8-12(-20) round in cross-section, 1-2 cm
long, usually whitish.
Central spines: 0 to 4,
longer and stouter somewhat
angular in cross-section, the main one often flattened, up to 7.5 cm
long; usually yellowish or whitish,
but sometimes reddish or blackish.
Flowers: Borne below the stems apex, oftem
unisexual (plants dioecious) broad Infundibuliform, orange-red, crimson
or (rarely) pinkish, 3-10 cm long, up to 8 cm in diameter, perianth-segment
obtuse or retuse, stigma with 7 or 8 lobes, usually greenish, areoles on
flower, and ovary felted, bearing short white bristly spines.
Blooming season: Spring. The blooming period of large plants can
extend over a period of weeks, with each bloom remaining open for
several days and nights.
Fruit: Globose, becoming red, with spines falling away
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Nowadays E. roemeri
is regarded by botanists as E.coccineus ssp. coccineus.
This taxon is closely related to and easily confused
with
E. triglochidiatus, and there are many cases of
hybridization between the species.
Female and male flowers: Echinocereus coccineus is a cactus with
both hermaphroditic (bisexual) and dioecious (male and female) forms of
flowers on different plants. Male flower shows pollen-filled anthers
surrounding the base of the stigma lobes.ì,
while functional female flowers
from different plants show reduced filaments and empty anther sacs held
below the stigma lobes.
The flowers appear specialized for hummingbirds, but are also pollinated
by bees. They are huge and highly rewarding, and daily nectar production
averaged 30 mg sugar/flower. This set of traits represents a syndrome
rare among hummingbird flowers, in which the flower fits the head rather
than just the bill, and birds are well rewarded for a risky or
inconvenient visit.
USES: This species is
used medicinally as a heart stimulant.
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Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of
Echinocereus coccineus.
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Family:
Cactaceae
(Cactus Family) |
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Conservation status: Listed in
CITES Appendix II |
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Scientific name:
Echinocereus
roemeri (Engelmann) Engelmann ex
Haage 1859
Basionym : Cereus roemeri
Engelmann 1849:50. [not Mühlenpfordt].
TL: Texas, granitic region of the Llano. Lindheimer, 1847
(MO).
Origin:
Southwestern USA
(New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, west
Texas and Colorado), Mexico (Sonora, Coahuila, Chihuahua)
Habitat:
Conservation status: Listed in
CITES appendix 2.
Common Names include: 'Golden
Rainbow Hedgehog' & 'White-spined Claret-cup Cactus'.
Etymology:
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Synonyms:
- Echinocereus
coccineus fa. roemeri Parker 1996:4 nom. nud.
- Echinocereus coccineus ssp.
roemeri Blum, Lange & Rutow in Blum et al.1998
Note: Usually listed as Echinocereus roemeri Engelmann
ex Rümpler 1885
- Echinocereus roemeri (Mühlenpfordt)
Rydberg 1906: nom. illeg. (later homonym).
- Echinocereus roemeri Lemaire
1868:56 nom. nud.
- Cereus roemeri
Mühlenpfordt 1848
(syn of E. robustus (Peebles) Peebles 1940 (?)
TL: Northern Texas, Roemer (?).
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A female flower with reduced filaments and
empty anther sacs held below the stigma lobes. |
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Cultivation and Mail Sale 
