About Echinocereus fasciculatus (Engelm.) L.D.Benson
Echinocereus fasciculatus (Engelm.) L.D.Benson grows in loose clusters containing five to 20 shoots. Its green shoots are cylindrical to elongated, 16 to 45 centimeters long, with a diameter of 4 to 7.5 centimeters. The surface of the shoots is not fully covered by spines. This cactus has eight to 18 ribs that do not have distinct tuberculation. It produces two to four straight, light-colored central spines that have darker tips, measuring 2.5 to 7.5 centimeters long; one of these central spines is noticeably larger than the others. There are eleven to 13 straight, spreading marginal spines that are whitish or grayish, ranging from 1.2 to 2 centimeters in length. The flowers are broadly funnel-shaped, colored magenta to reddish purple. They emerge on the upper half of the shoots, measuring 5 to 6.2 centimeters long with the same diameter. The fruits are spherical and fleshy; they start out green and turn red as they mature. This species is distributed in the United States in the states of New Mexico and Arizona, as well as in the adjacent Mexican state of Sonora.
