If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Temperate Plants

Echinocereus stramineus

(Engelm.) Haage

Cactaceae


The taxonomy of this genus is complicated due to fuzzy taxonomic boundaries, polytypic taxa, and differing interpretations by specialists. Most North American botanists recognize about 50 species, while the Echinocereus specialists in Germany recognize more than 70 species[
1991
Title
Ajo Peak to Tinajas Altas: A flora in southwestern Arizona. Part 7. Eudicots: Cactaceae - Cactus Family
Publication
Phytoneuron 2014-69: 1-95
Author
Felger R.S. et al
Publisher
 
Year
2014
ISBN
2153 733X
Description
 
]. We are following the treatment of David Hunt, 2016 in CITES Cactaceae Checklist, Third Edition, ISBN 978-0-9933113-2-1.

+ Synonyms

Cereus stramineus Engelm.

Echinocereus enneacanthus stramineus (Engelm.) L.D.Benson

Cereus conglomeratus (C.F.Först. ex K.Schum.) A.Berger

Echinocereus conglomeratus C.F.Först. ex K.Schum.

Echinocereus enneacanthus conglomeratus (C.F.Först. ex K.Schum.) L.D.Benson

Common Name:

No Image.

General Information

Echinocereus stramineus is a spiny, evergreen, succulent shrubby cactus. Many-branched from the base, it forms clumps or compact mounds of usually 20 - 100 cylindrical stems, exceptionally up to 500 stems; the stems can be up to 45cm tall and 8cm in diameter, forming a clump that can be more than 100cm wide[
1987
Title
The Cactus Family
Publication
 
Author
Anderson E.F.
Publisher
Timber Press; Portland, Oregon
Year
2001
ISBN
0-88192-498-9
Description
An excellent work, giving botanical descriptions of virtually all the cacti, together with their range (but not their habitats) and sometimes also a photo. it also contains a long chapter detailing the many uses of cacti and another on cultivation..
].
The plant is commonly harvested from the wild for its fruit, which is often sold in local markets. It is also often grown as an ornamental.
Echinocereus stramineus has a very wide range, is abundant, and grows in inaccessible places not suitable for farming or agriculture. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2017)[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
,
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
,
1987
Title
The Cactus Family
Publication
 
Author
Anderson E.F.
Publisher
Timber Press; Portland, Oregon
Year
2001
ISBN
0-88192-498-9
Description
An excellent work, giving botanical descriptions of virtually all the cacti, together with their range (but not their habitats) and sometimes also a photo. it also contains a long chapter detailing the many uses of cacti and another on cultivation..

Range

Southern N. America - New Mexico, Texas, northern Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León).

Habitat

Chihuahuan desert scrub, rocky slopes, rarely flats, igneous and sedimentary substrates; at elevations from 500 - 1,800 metres[
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
]. Rocky limestone slopes in full sun, in desert scrub and pine forest[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].

Properties

Conservation StatusLeast Concern
Edibility Rating *  *  *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
HabitShrub
Height0.40 m
Cultivation StatusOrnamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Echinocereus stramineus is a plant of semi-arid and arid regions of southwest N. America, requiring hot summers and a period of cool winter rest if flower-buds are to be produced the following spring. Plants in the wild are known to experience some frost and, in cultivation, can withstand short periods with temperatures down to aound -5°c during this winter rest so long as they are kept dry[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
In cultivation, Cactus plants generally will not succeed in moist climates. They usually require a sunny position in a well-drained, circumneutral soil and to be kept more or less dry in the dormant season[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Requires a hot, sunny position in a well-drained soil.
The densely branched stems of Echinocereus stramineus form hemispheric mounds bristling with unusually long, yellow-tinted spines, thus appearing like a heap of straw; old clumps of these cacti are unique visual dominants on many rocky slopes in the Chihuahuan Desert[
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
].
Rare white-flowered individuals occur[
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
].
Flowering on plants less than 30cm in diameter is uncommon.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[
1987
Title
The Cactus Family
Publication
 
Author
Anderson E.F.
Publisher
Timber Press; Portland, Oregon
Year
2001
ISBN
0-88192-498-9
Description
An excellent work, giving botanical descriptions of virtually all the cacti, together with their range (but not their habitats) and sometimes also a photo. it also contains a long chapter detailing the many uses of cacti and another on cultivation..
] The delicious ripe fruits are aromatic and very fleshy. They taste of strawberries and contain blackish seeds of up to 1.5 mm diameter. The pulp can range from white to pale pink, individual fruits varying on same plant[
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
]. The bright pinkish-brown fruit, with its characteristic reticulate pattern of slightly darker or greener colour between flattened tubercles, is usually 35 - 40mm in diameter, exceptionally to 50mm[
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
]. The fruits of this species may be the largest in the genus, they are spiny until ripe but upon ripening lose their spines and turn red[
270
Title
Flora of N. America
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
].

Medicinal

The fruit is used in the treatment of diabetes[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - surface sow on a finely sieved compost and place under a glass or transparent plastic cover in a temperature of 20°c.
Cuttings of detached branches. Leave the freshly taken cuttings in a warm, dry, airy position for the cut surface to callus, then place them in a sandy compost,
Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2024-10-08. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Echinocereus+stramineus>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.