Skip to content
Echinocactus
EntityQ133014· pop 28· linked from 35 articles

Echinocactus

Sign in to save

Echinocactus is a genus of cacti in the subfamily Cactoideae. The generic name derives from the Ancient Greek ἐχῖνος (echînos), meaning "spiny," and cactus. It and Ferocactus are the two genera of barrel cactus. Members of the genus usually have heavy spination and relatively small flowers. The fruits are copiously woolly, and this is one major distinction between Echinocactus and Ferocactus. Propagation is by seed.

Species

GENUS

  1. KingdomPlantae
  2. PhylumTracheophyta
  3. ClassMagnoliopsida
  4. OrderCaryophyllales
  5. FamilyCactaceae
Native toArizona, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, New Mexico, Texas
Observations recorded26,665

via GBIF · Kew POWO

Museum specimens

Specimen records
107
With media
79
Family
Cactaceae
Collections
INECOL, SD, IGL-UNAM, RSA, CAS, SJNM
Recorded in
Mexico, United States, Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Guatemala

Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Parent taxon
Cacteae
Image
Echinocactus horizonthalonius 1.jpg
Show 7 more facts
taxon rank
genus
taxon name
Echinocactus
Commons category
Echinocactus
topic's main category
Category:Echinocactus
taxon common name
egelcactus
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~2 min read

Encyclopedic overview

4 sections
Contents
  • Species
  • Formerly placed here
  • References
  • External links

Echinocactus is a genus of cacti in the subfamily Cactoideae. The generic name derives from the Ancient Greek ἐχῖνος (echînos), meaning "spiny," and cactus. It and Ferocactus are the two genera of barrel cactus. Members of the genus usually have heavy spination and relatively small flowers. The fruits are copiously woolly, and this is one major distinction between Echinocactus and Ferocactus. Propagation is by seed.

==Species== As of 2025, the genus includes 3 accepted species out of hundreds of plants having the name. {| class="wikitable" |- ! Image !! Scientific name !! Common name !! Distribution |- | ||Echinocactus × diabolicus (Halda, L.Vacek & Vaško) Janeba|| ||Mexico (Zacatecas) |- |120px|| Echinocactus horizonthalonius Lem. ||Devil's Head, Silverbell Cactus, Turk's Head CactusGolden Barrel Cactus ||southwestern United States and northern Mexico |- |120px || Echinocactus platyacanthus Link & Otto ||Giant Barrel Cactus||Mexico in the Chihuahuan Desert |}

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Echinocactus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (6)