Echinocereus maritimus | |
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Conservation status | |
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
Genus: | Echinocereus |
Species: | E. maritimus |
Binomial name | |
Echinocereus maritimus (M.E.Jones) K.Schum. 1898 | |
Synonyms | |
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Echinocereus maritimus is a species of cactus native to Mexico.
Description
Echinocereus maritimus is a cactus that forms cushions with up to 300 shoots, growing to 40 cm (16 in) high and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in diameter. The light to dark green, cylindrical shoots are 5 to 30 cm (2.0 to 11.8 in) long and 3 to 7 cm (1.2 to 2.8 in) in diameter, with eight to twelve sharp ribs. Initially bright red, the spines turn dirty yellow or gray over time. The seven to ten central spines are flattened, angular, and 3 to 6 cm (1.2 to 2.4 in) long, while the radial spines are 1.5 to 2.5 cm (0.59 to 0.98 in) long.
The bright yellow, funnel-shaped flowers appear below the shoot tips, growing up to 6 cm (2.4 in) long and wide. The spherical, thorny fruits start green and turn red as they mature.
Distribution
Echinocereus maritimus is native to the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and nearby islands growing in coastal desert scrub at elevations between 0 to 50 meters. Plants are found growing along with Euphorbia misera, Agave sebastiana, Bergerocactus emoryi, Lophocereus schottii, Myrtillocactus cochal, Ferocactus fordii, Cylindropuntia prolifera, Cochemiea pondii, Mammillaria brandegeei, and Cochemiea hutchisoniana subsp. louisae .
Taxonomy
First described as Cereus maritimus by Marcus Eugene Jones in 1883, the species was reclassified by Karl Moritz Schumann in 1897. The name "maritimus," meaning "relating to the sea," reflects its preferred coastal habitat.
References
- Biología, Héctor Hernández (Instituto de; Group), Succulent Plants Specialist (2012-02-06). "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- "Echinocereus maritimus (M.E.Jones) K.Schum". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. p. 200. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.
- "Echinocereus maritimus". LLIFLE. 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2024-06-29. This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
- "Botany". The American Naturalist. 17 (9). : 970–975. 1883. doi:10.1086/273471. ISSN 0003-0147. JSTOR 2450803. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- Schumann, Karl Moritz; Hirscht, Karl. (1899). Gesamtbeschreibung der Kakteen (Monographia cactacearum) /von Karl Schumann. Neudamm : J. Neumann. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.10394.
External links
- Media related to Echinocereus maritimus at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Echinocereus maritimus at Wikispecies
Taxon identifiers | |
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Echinocereus maritimus |
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Cereus maritimus |