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Echinocereus engelmannii
Also called Strawberry Cactus, Engelmann's Long Spine Cactus
Echinocereus engelmannii, the strawberry hedgehog cactus or Engelmann's hedgehog cactus, is a cactus commonly found in desert areas of the southwestern United States and the adjacent areas of Mexico, including the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Baja California and Sonora.
Engelmann's hedgehog cactus is one of the most common species of cactus in the south-western US (southern California, Arizona, southern Nevada, Utah) and Mexico (Baja California down to northern Baja California Sur, Sonora) at elevations from sea level to 2400 meters. There are a number of varieties of Echinocereus engelmannii, and some are rare. It grows in different dry habitats normally in well drained deserts in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodlands, grass, and Great Basin shrub in flats with fine sand on the plain, washes and canyons in the desert, and also in gravelly, sandy, or rocky hillsides, and in mountain ranges. The rich flora and diverse vegetation of the area includes, among others, Ferocactus cylindraceus, Cochemiea grahamii, Cochemiea tetrancistra, Echinocereus scopulorum, Fouquieria sp., Larrea tridentata, Parkinsonia microphylla, Fouquieria columnaris, Cylindropuntia leptocaulis, Cylindropuntia ramosissima, and Opuntia engelmannii. Engelmann's hedgehog cactus is abundant throughout its range.
Echinocereus engelmannii is used as a landscape plant in its native areas. In pot culture, this species requires well aerated gritty substrate and a hot and sunny location in the summer. During winter, this species tolerates light frost and wet (if well-drained) soil. In cultivation, this species usually does not bloom until it develops 2–3 branches.
Echinocereus acanthosetus · Echinocereus acifer · Echinocereus adustus · Apache hedgehog cactus · Arizona Hedgehog Cactus · Baker Kingcup Cactus · Echinocereus barthelowanus · Berlandier's hedgehog cactus · Pinkflower hedgehog cactus · Brandegee's Hedgehog Cactus · Sonoran Rainbow Hedgehog · Echinocereus canus
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Echinocereus engelmannii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
