About Echinocereus parkeri N.P.Taylor
Echinocereus parkeri N.P.Taylor grows in compact cushions or open clusters with many shoots. The shoots are tapered or cylindrical, reaching up to 15 cm (5.9 in) in length and 2 to 6 cm (0.79 to 2.36 in) in diameter, and have six to ten tuberculated ribs. This species produces one to eight central spines that start dark but quickly become glassy white to yellowish, measuring 2 to 6.5 cm (0.79 to 2.56 in) long. It also has six to 18 slender, mostly glassy radial spines that are 0.7 to 1.2 cm (0.28 to 0.47 in) long. Its funnel-shaped flowers are magenta to deep pink with a white throat, growing near shoot tips at 4.5 to 5.5 cm (1.8 to 2.2 in) in length and 4.5 to 6 cm (1.8 to 2.4 in) in diameter. The fruits are green and spherical, with white flesh, and are covered in deciduous glassy white spines. Echinocereus parkeri is native to the Chihuahuan Desert, occurring in the Mexican states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas at elevations between 1450 and 1900 meters. It grows alongside Mammillaria melanocentra subsp. rubrograndis and Mammillaria glassii.
