Echinocereus pectinatus is a species of hedgehog cactus.
Echinocereus pectinatus is an upright, spherical to cylindrical cactus, typically solitary, growing long and in diameter. The plant is covered in comb-shaped thorns forming white and pink zones. It has 12 to 23 blunt ribs with dense, elliptical, white felted areoles about long. The 12 to 30 radial spines are comb-shaped, slightly bent back, long, and tinted whitish to pink. The 1 to 5 central spines range from yellowish to pink to brownish and are long. The funnel-shaped flowers are in diameter, deep pink, and appear on the side of the trunk. The flower tube has white tomentose thorns on the outside. The round to elliptical purple fruits are fleshy and thorny.[1]
There are three accepted subspecies:
| Image | Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| Echinocereus pectinatus subsp. pectinatus | N. Mexico | |
| Echinocereus pectinatus subsp. rutowiorum | Mexico (Chihuahua) | |
| Echinocereus pectinatus subsp. wenigeri | Texas to Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila) | |
Found in the Mexican states of Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, and in the south-western US (New Mexico and Texas) at elevations of 400 to 1900 meters.[2] [3]
First described in 1838 by Michael Joseph François Scheidweiler as Echinocactus pectinatus, the species was reclassified by George Engelmann into the genus Echinocereus in 1848.[4] [5] The specific epithet "pectinatus," meaning "combed" in Latin, refers to the arrangement of the thorns.[6]