Echinocereus coccineus

Family

Cactaceae

Subfamily

Cactoideae

Genus according to POWO

Echinocereus

Growth form

Clumps of short or elongated ribbed stems

Rozmieszczenie

According to POWO, the species occurs naturally from Colorado to northeastern Mexico. Listed regions include Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and northeastern Mexico. The database recognizes five subspecies. [2-WWW]

The large number of lower-rank units argues for care when generalizing traits of one specimen. A name without location data does not indicate site elevation, rock type or winter conditions. [2-WWW]

Siedlisko

It grows on rocky slopes, in fissures, on rock ledges and in open communities from dry scrub to open woodland. Roots use small substrate pockets and drainage along rock. Clumps may be exposed to strong sun, wind and large daily temperature changes. [4-WWW] [4-WWW] [Hernández‐Hernández et al. 2014] [2-WWW]

Such habitat does not mean a complete absence of water. Rain may be intense, but water does not remain long around the collar and roots. Cultivation should reproduce this dynamic as well as the appearance of a stony surface. [4-WWW] [4-WWW] [Hernández‐Hernández et al. 2014] [2-WWW]

Budowa

Numerous stems form a compact clump. Each stem has distinct ribs with areoles and spines. Red or orange-red flowers appear in the upper part of mature stems and have a structure associated with bird access to nectar. [4-WWW] [4-WWW] [Hernández‐Hernández et al. 2014] [2-WWW]

Habit changes with age. A young solitary seedling does not show the eventual width of a clump, while a perennial plant needs more space and has different moisture conditions between stems. [4-WWW] [4-WWW] [Hernández‐Hernández et al. 2014] [2-WWW]

Biology

Red flowers with characters of a bird-pollination syndrome illustrate the relationship between morphology and ecological interaction. A character syndrome does not mean that every flower is visited exclusively by one pollinator species. Effective pollination and seed production also depend on the biology of the particular population. [4-WWW] [4-WWW] [Hernández‐Hernández et al. 2014] [2-WWW]

Clumping growth allows a plant to maintain many active apices. Damage to one stem need not destroy the whole genet, but rot in a compact cluster can spread between tissues in contact. [4-WWW] [4-WWW] [Hernández‐Hernández et al. 2014] [2-WWW]

Identification and documentation

Characters of the whole clump, mature stem, spines, flower and fruit help identification. The five subspecies accepted in POWO indicate that some variation is geographically structured. A commercial name without a site does not automatically assign a plant to one of these units. [4-WWW] [4-WWW] [Hernández‐Hernández et al. 2014] [2-WWW]

Record stem number separately from plant number. A clump may be one genotype formed through branching. When sowing, label each batch and its parents separately if known. A red flower does not establish the species in a genus containing several similarly flowering lineages. [4-WWW] [4-WWW] [Hernández‐Hernández et al. 2014] [2-WWW]

Physiology of frost hardiness and scope of the data

In a single-season trial in Bozeni, Romania, published in 2022, ten plants under cover and ten without cover were compared. At the reported minimum of −21,9°C, all uncovered plants identified as E. coccineus died. Damage also occurred under cover. Material provenance and cover construction were not described in enough detail to reproduce the experiment. The result applies to a particular trial and does not establish one threshold for the entire species. [Szekely-Varga et al. 2022]

Notes on sources

The extent of the range and subspecies variation require description of the particular provenance. There is no single recommended temperature for all plants.

Source material

Species record in Plants of the World Online [2-WWW] [4-WWW] [4-WWW] [Hernández‐Hernández et al. 2014] [2-WWW] [Szekely-Varga et al. 2022]

The name and range were checked in POWO on 8.10.2026. The profile distinguishes source data from cultivation inferences.