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Home/Species/ Green-flower Hedgehog Cactus

Echinocereus viridiflorus

Engelm.

Green-flower Hedgehog Cactus

G5Secure Found in 22 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
PSESA Status
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.150914
Element CodePDCAC060E0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
CITESAppendix II
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderCaryophyllales
FamilyCactaceae
GenusEchinocereus
USESAPS
Other Common Names
Nylon Hedgehog Cactus (EN) nylon 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 Date1994-08-01
Change Date1994-08-01
Edition Date1988-01-29
Edition AuthorsLAMBERT, A.
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Rank Reasons
Widely distributed throughout the southwestern US.
Range Extent Comments
It occurs in the U.S. in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming; and in Mexico in Chihuahua and Coahuila (Hernandez et al., 2004). New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Mexico. Range encompases eastern Wyoming and eastern Colorado south through eastern New Mexico (as far west as just west of Santa Fe) to the vicinity of El Paso, Texas, and southeast through the Guadalupe Mountains into the Big Bend of Texas; with reports from extreme western Kansas and the panhandle of Oklahoma (Weniger, 1970).
Occurrences Comments
Approximately 110 EO's (Benson 1982).
Threat Impact Comments
Most cacti subject to horticultural collecting.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Gravelly soils of foothills, plains, and washes in grassland or along edges of woodlands; grassland, desert.

Ecology

It is the most northerly of the Echinocerei growing on the bleak prairies and foothills of eastern Wyoming and Colorado in spite of cold and extreme conditions which would kill most cacti (Weniger, 1970).

Reproduction

While there is a paucity of species-specific information on seed dispersal, ringtails, and gray foxes are known to eat the fruits of Echinocereus (Willson 1993).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesNNR
ProvinceRankNative
ColoradoS4Yes
NebraskaS2Yes
KansasSNRYes
South DakotaS3Yes
OklahomaS1Yes
New MexicoSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
WyomingS2Yes
Plant Characteristics
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (22)
Colorado (1)
AreaForestAcres
Comanche Peak Adjacent AreaArapaho & Roosevelt NFs44,158
New Mexico (21)
AreaForestAcres
Apache Kid ContiguousCibola National Forest67,542
Black CanyonSanta Fe National Forest1,922
Candian RiverCibola National Forest7,149
Capitan MountainsLincoln National Forest14,069
Chama WS RiverSanta Fe National Forest4,168
Chama WildernessSanta Fe National Forest1,295
Columbine - Hondo Wilderness Study AreaCarson National Forest43,739
El InviernoSanta Fe National Forest29,927
El LagunitoSanta Fe National Forest6,799
GuadalupeCibola National Forest13,619
Jefferies CanyonLincoln National Forest8,934
Juan de Gabaldon GrantSanta Fe National Forest8,023
Latir PeakCarson National Forest3,573
LemitasSanta Fe National Forest8,129
Nichols ReservoirSanta Fe National Forest1,518
Pacheco CanyonSanta Fe National Forest1,012
Pueblo MesaSanta Fe National Forest3,540
Rio MedioSanta Fe National Forest2,844
San JoseCibola National Forest16,950
Thompson PeakSanta Fe National Forest33,001
YoungsvilleSanta Fe National Forest6,122
References (5)
  1. Hernandez, H.M., C. Gomez-Hinostrosa, and B. Goettsch. 2004. Checklist of Chihuahuan desert Cactaceae. Harvard Papers in Botany 9(1):51-68.
  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. Leuck, E.E. and J.M. Miller. 1982. Pollination biology and chemotaxonomy of the <i>Echinocereus virdiflorus</i> complex (Cactaceae). American Journal of Botany 69(10): 1669-1672.
  4. Weniger, D. 1970. Cacti of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. University of Texas Press: Austin, Texas. 249 pp. + 64 pls.
  5. Willson, M. F. 1993. Mammals as seed-dispersal mutualists in North America. Oikos 67: 159-176.