Echinocereus pentalophus (Lady finger cactus)

FloraFinder uses cookies only for correct operation. More info. Okay

Echinocereus pentalophus (A. P. de Candolle) Lemaire 1868

Lady finger cactus, alicoche, cadoncillo

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Caryophyllidae	Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts
Order	Caryophyllales	Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants
Family	Cactaceae	Succulent (water-storing) plants, often spiny
Genus	Echinocereus	Ribbed, small to medium-sized cacti
Species	pentalophus	Means “five-tufted”

About plant names...

Lady finger cactus is a native of south Texas and portions of Mexico.

Identification: These cacti branch multiply into low clumps up to 3' (1 m) in width. The stems are as long as 28" (70 cm), and up to 2" (6 cm) in diameter. There are three to eight ribs. Whitish or yellowish spines occur in groups of three to eight, and are up to ¾" (2 cm) long. Bright pink flowers, sometimes magenta, have yellow centers. Fruits are green, oval-shaped.

Online References:

Desert-tropicals.com

Cactus Art: the World of Cacti & Succulents

The University of Connecticut Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Plant Growth Facilities

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Wikimedia Commons

EFloras

References:

Anderson, Edward F., The Cactus Family, Timber Press, 2001, p. 243

Cereus pentalophus [var.] leptacanthus Salm-Dyck 1849

Echinocereus leptacanthus (Salm-Dyck) K. Schumann 1898

Cereus procumbens Engelmann 1849