About
Find Nurseries
Design & Inspiration
California Garden Planner
Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW)
Planting Guide
Butterflies
My Plant Lists
Contact Us
Sign In
Donate
Advanced Search
Contact Us
Sign In
Donate
Home
Advanced Search
Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant
Add Current Plant To List
Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos
About Calscape
Nurseries
California Garden Planner
Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW)
Planting Guide
Butterflies
My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Donate
Tap map to see plants native to location
Print Plant Signs
Print Plant Labels
Export To Excel
Export To Excel (Detailed)
Order by Popularity
Order by Common Name
Order by Scientific Name
Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars
Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries
Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view
Text view
Home
>
All plants
for California
>
Echinocereus engelmannii
|
Previous
Next
Loading....
Processing the request......
Calico Cactus
( Echinocereus engelmannii )
Echinocereus engelmannii
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
Click on blue squares to see occurrence records.
<< Plant species
Zoom To My Address
Zoom To California
Estimated Plant Range (
?
)
occurrences >>
All Occurrence Records
5 Nurseries Carry This Plant
Add to My Plant List
About Calico Cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii)
5 Nurseries Carry This Plant
Add to My Plant List
The Calico Cactus (
Echinocereus engelmannii
) is commonly found in desert areas of the southwestern United States and the adjacent areas of Mexico, including the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Baja California and Sonora. In California it is found in the lower Colorado and Mojave deserts. There are five recognized varieties in the state;
Echinocereus engelmannii
var. howei is a rare plant on CNPS list 1B.1. Calico Cactus grows in clusters, sometimes up to 20 and more stems. Its bright magenta flowers bloom in April in its southern extremes to late May at northern locations. The flowers are borne at the upper half to one third of the stem. They are funnelform in shape, up to 3.5 inches long with dark-green stigmas. The fruit is very spiny. At first it is green, becoming pink and drying when ripe. The ripe fruit has spines which are easily detached. The seeds are black, and around a tenth of an inch in size. The stems are initially cylindrical and erect in young plants, but later with the stem base lying on the ground. The stems are usually 1.5 to 3.5 inches in diameter and up to 25 inches high, and obscured by heavy spines which tend to angle downwards. The plants have around 10 ribs, which are somewhat flattened and tuberculate. It is not often used, even in desert gardens, because it is very slow growing and tends to not flower until it has reached mature size. Nevertheless, the flowers are a beautiful reward for the patient desert gardener.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Shrub, Succulent
Size
0.29 - 2 ft tall
4 ft wide
Growth Rate
Slow
Dormancy
Evergreen
Flower Color
Purple
Flowering Season
Spring
Wildlife Supported
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 2
likely
* )
SHOW ALL
*
Yosemitia Graciella
Yosemitia graciella
Yosemitia graciella
*
Dyotopasta yumaella
Dyotopasta yumaella
Landscaping Information
Sun
Full Sun
Moisture
Extremely Low, Very Low
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established
Nurseries
Carried by 5
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy
Soil Drainage
Fast
Soil Description
Rocky, sandy
Common uses
Deer Resistant
Companion Plants
Use with other
Desert
or
Desert
-edge species such as Indian Mallow (
Abutilon palmeri
),
Desert Agave
(
Agave deserti
),
Desert Lavender
(
Condea emoryi
), Cholla Cactus (
Cylindropuntia sp.
),
Brittlebush
(
Encelia farinosa
), Barrel Cactus (
Ferocactus cylindraceus
),
Ocotillo
(
Fouquieria splendens
),
Chuparosa
(
Justicia californica
),
Prickly Pear
Cactus (
Opuntia sp.
),
Jojoba
(
Simmondsia chinensis
),
Apricot Mallow
(
Sphaeralcea ambigua
), and
Mojave Yucca
(Yucca shidigera), as well as various
Desert
annuals.
Sunset Zones
?
2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Natural Setting
Site Type
Most often found on rocky desert slopes, sometimes growing out of cracks in large boulders
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.5" - 29.9", Summer Precipitation: 0.38" - 2.88", Coldest Month: 32.2" - 59.4", Hottest Month: 57.2" - 88.3", Humidity: 2.47" - 40.67", Elevation: 229" - 8222"
Alternative Names
Botanical Names
: Echinocereus engelmannii var. engelmannii
Common Names
: Engelmann Hedgehog, Engelmann's Hedgehog Cactus, Strawberry Cactus, Órgano-pequeño Fresa
Print Plant Sign
Print Plant Label
Edit
Back
Print
Back
Print
Calico Cactus
Echinocereus engelmannii
Sources include:
Wikipedia
. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the
California Consortia of Herbaria
, Sunset information provided by
Jepson Flora Project
. Propogation from seed information provided by the
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include
CalPhotos
,
Wikimedia Commons
, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include
Calflora
,
CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online
,
Jepson Flora Project
,
Las Pilitas
,
Theodore Payne
,
Tree of Life
,
The Xerces Society
, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.
Links:
Jepson eFlora Taxon Page
CalPhotos
Wikipedia
Calflora
Sign in to your Calscape Account
X
Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.
Email Address
Password
Sign In