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Home/Species/ Arizona Rainbow Cactus

Echinocereus rigidissimus

(Engelm.) Haage f.

Arizona Rainbow Cactus

G5Secure Found in 12 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.157022
Element CodePDCAC060J0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
CITESAppendix II
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderCaryophyllales
FamilyCactaceae
GenusEchinocereus
Synonyms
Echinocereus pectinatus var. rigidissimus(Engelm.) Rumpl.
Other Common Names
Rainbow Hedgehog Cactus (EN) rainbow hedgehog cactus (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Review Date1995-01-27
Change Date1995-01-27
Range Extent Comments
Occurs in extreme southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico to Mexico (northern Sonora, northwestern Chihuahua) (Flora of North America, 2003; Weniger, 1970).
Occurrences Comments
McLaughlin et al. (2001) found it common on the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch in northeastern Santa Cruz Co., Arizona; occurring in grassland habitat. Sanchez-Escalante et al. (2005) documented it in the Sierra de Mazatan, Municipios of Ures and Mazatan, in Sonora, Mexico.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

It occurs on gravelly hills, steep canyonsides, semidesert grasslands, oak woodlands, and interior chaparral, on igneous substrates; at 1200-1600 m (Flora of North America, 2003). The reported habitat preference for limestone (L. D. Benson, 1969) is erroneous; as this species is a calcifuge, preferring soils poor in lime and usually acid.

Reproduction

Flowering late spring-summer (May-Jul); fruiting 3 months after flowering (Flora of North America, 2003).

While there is a paucity of species-specific information on seed dispersal, it is known within the genus of Echinocereus that mammals do eat and disperse their seeds. Ringtails, and gray foxes are known to eat the fruits of cacti species in Echinocereus (Willson 1993).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
New MexicoS3Yes
ArizonaS3Yes
Plant Characteristics
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (12)
Arizona (11)
AreaForestAcres
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
Happy ValleyCoronado National Forest7,972
Lower RinconCoronado National Forest3,278
Middle Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest10,543
Santa RitaCoronado National Forest6,078
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
Upper Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest2,533
Upper Rincon RoadlessCoronado National Forest2,991
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
WinchesterCoronado National Forest13,459
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
References (6)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2003b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 4, Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 1. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 559 pp.
  2. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  3. McLaughlin, S.P., E.L. Geiger, and J.E. Bowers. 2001. Flora of the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch, northeastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 33(2):113-131.
  4. Sanchez-Escalante, J.J., M. Espericueta-Betancourt, and R.A. Castillo-Gomez. 2005. A preliminary floristic inventory of the Sierra de Mazatan, Municipios of Ures and Mazatan, Sonora, Mexico. USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-36: 118-126.
  5. Weniger, D. 1970. Cacti of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. University of Texas Press: Austin, Texas. 249 pp. + 64 pls.
  6. Willson, M. F. 1993. Mammals as seed-dispersal mutualists in North America. Oikos 67: 159-176.