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Echinocereus enneacanthus var. brevispinus
SB400 Crockett County, Texas, USA
The plants of this variety  have very short spines.

Description: Plants caespitose forming dense or lax clumps either loose decumbent, or erect with 20-100(-500) branches, usually branching before flowering. ,
Stems: 5-14 cm diameter up to over 100 cm long, The stems of this species are soft bright green and often remain wrinkled.
Ribs: 7-12 prominent warty.
Areoles: 18-52 mm apart.
Radial spines: Curved needle-like brownish, bulbous at the base 5-9 per areole, 10-20 mm;
Central spines: Short and divergent 1 (to 3) per areole, 10-20 (25) mm long.
Flowers; Purple-red to pink in varying shades, and diurnal. Blooming in spring.
Fruit: Round pale yellow-green or dull reddish, 20-30 mm, pulp white or pale pink. The fruit (especially enneacanthus var. stramineus) are edible. After the spines are removed from the green-brown flesh of the fruit, it can be eaten and tastes similar to, hence the name straswsberry cactus.

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Origin:  New Mexico, Texas and Northeastern Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí and Coahuila)

Habitat:  Chihuahuan desert scrub, flats, rarely rocky slopes; 600-1800 m;

Synonyms:

• Echinocereus merkeri
• Echinocereus sarissophorus
• Echinocereus uspenskii
• Cereus merkeri
• Echinocereus enneacanthus var. dubius
• Echinocereus dubius
• Cereus dubius

Cultivation: Rot easily it is sensitive to overwatering (rot prone) needs a very good drainage to avoid rotting, Keep drier and cool in winter. Need full sun. Very cold resistant It can withstand freezing temperatures but not too much water (resistant to approx -12C or less for short periods of time)
Propagation: Cuttings that are  left out to callus off before planting ; Also can be grown from seeds.

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of Echinocereus enneacanthus:

• E. enneacanthus subsp. enneacanthus has stems that are 5 to 25 cm thick; Central spines long and divergent 1-5 per areole, 55-95 mm.
  radial spinescurved  up to 4 cm long. This subspecies is the most common of the two.
• E. enneacanthus subsp. brevispinus has stems that are less than 5 inches thick; Erect and straight central spines and radial spines that are les

All the information and photos in cactus art file are now available also in the new the Enciclopedia of Cacti. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.