Echinopsis

Echinopsis is a genus of cacti native to South America, sometimes known as hedgehog cactus, sea-urchin cactus or Easter lily cactus. Template:As of, Plants of the World Online used a broad circumscription of the genus, resulting in about 80 accepted species, ranging from large and treelike types to small globose cacti. The name derives from echinos hedgehog or sea urchin, and opsis appearance, a reference to these plants' dense coverings of spines.

They are remarkable for the great size, length of tube, and beauty of their flowers, borne upon generally small and dumpy stems.

Taxonomy

Studies in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in several formerly separate genera being absorbed into Echinopsis. When very broadly circumscribed, Echinopsis sensu lato included over 100 species.<ref name=GuerMajuCornHern19>Template:Cite journal</ref> Some genera have been absorbed and then accepted again. For example, the genus name Trichocereus was given to a number of columnar cacti in 1909 by Vincenzo Riccobono. The genus was subsumed into Echinopsis in 1974 by Friedrich, along with Lobivia. In 2011, it was argued that Trichocereus was distinct from Echinopsis,<ref name=Schi11>Template:Citation</ref> and a 2012 genetic and morphological study by Albesiano found Trichocereus to be monophyletic if it included three species of Harrisia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

A 2012 genetic analysis of chloroplast DNA indicated Echinopsis was made up of several divergent lineages.<ref name=Schlumpberger>Template:Cite journal</ref> This was shown again in 2019.<ref name=GuerMajuCornHern19/> It was concluded that previous taxonomic confusion was due to convergent evolution: species in different lineages had evolved to have similar growth and/or to share pollinators.<ref name=Schlumpberger/>

Template:As of, Plants of the World Online subsumed Soehrensia, Chamaecereus, Trichocereus, and Lobivia into Echinopsis, resulting in a genus of around 80 species.<ref name=POWO_30001009-2/>

Species

Species of Echinopsis accepted by Plants of the World Online Template:As of:<ref name=POWO_30001009-2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
File:Echinopsis boyuibensis1PCJO.jpg	Echinopsis albispinosa Template:Au (including E. silvestrii)	Argentina
File:Echinopsis ancistrophora1MW.jpg	Echinopsis ancistrophora Template:Au
File:Echinopsis angelesiae - Botanischer Garten, Dresden, Germany - DSC08882.JPG	Echinopsis angelesiae Template:Au
File:Lobivia arachnacantha (Echinopsis ancistrophora ssp. arachnacantha) 2.jpg	Echinopsis arachnacantha Template:Au
	Echinopsis arboricola Template:Au
File:Echinopsis aurea Prague 2011 1.jpg	Echinopsis aurea Template:Au	Argentina
	Echinopsis ayopayana Template:Au
File:Lobivia winteriana.jpg	Echinopsis backebergii Template:Au
	Echinopsis breviflora Template:Au	Argentina (Salta)
File:Echinopsis comarapana1PCJO.jpg	Echinopsis bridgesii Template:Au
File:Echinopsis bruchii (3496926845).jpg	Echinopsis bruchii Template:Au
File:Lobivia caineana 31090.JPG	Echinopsis caineana Template:Au
File:Echinopsis Hammerschmidii (13626228803).jpg	Echinopsis calochlora Template:Au (including E. hammerschmidii)	Bolivia to Brazil (Mato Grosso do Sul)
File:Lobivia calorubra VZ275 F1.jpg	Echinopsis calorubra Template:Au
File:Echinopsis6.jpg	Echinopsis camarguensis Template:Au
File:Echinopsis candicans Sebastián Bressan Reinhard.jpg	Echinopsis candicans Template:Au
File:Echinopsis ancistrophora subsp. cardenasiana1PCJO.jpg	Echinopsis cardenasiana Template:Au
	Echinopsis caulescens Template:Au
	Echinopsis chalaensis Template:Au (sometimes in Trichocereus)	Peru
File:Echinopsis chamaecereus2.jpg	Echinopsis chamaecereus Template:Au
File:Echinopsis chrysantha GotBot 2015 001.jpg	Echinopsis chrysantha Template:Au	Argentina
File:Lobivia chrysochete var markusii 27502.JPG	Echinopsis chrysochete Template:Au
File:Echinopsis cinnabarina.jpg	Echinopsis cinnabarina Template:Au
File:Echinopsis clavata 02 SSZ.jpg	Echinopsis clavata Template:Au (sometimes in Trichocereus)	Bolivia
File:Echinopsis crassicaulis (8410101402).jpg	Echinopsis crassicaulis Template:Au
File:Echinopsis peruviana (kunthiana).jpg	Echinopsis cuzcoensis Template:Au (sometimes in Trichocereus)	Peru
File:Echinopsis densispina1MW.jpg	Echinopsis densispina Template:Au	Argentina
File:Lobivia ferox (3645399770).jpg	Echinopsis ferox Template:Au
File:Echinopsis formosa446454867.jpg	Echinopsis formosa Template:Au
	Echinopsis friedrichii Template:Au
File:Echinopsis haematantha1b.MW.jpg	Echinopsis haematantha Template:Au	Argentina and Bolivia
	Echinopsis hahniana Template:Au
File:Echinopsis hertrichiana pm.jpg	Echinopsis hertrichiana Template:Au
File:2008 07 Botanical Garden Meran 71610R0413.jpg	Echinopsis huascha Template:Au
	Echinopsis jajoana Template:Au (including E. sanguiniflora)	Argentina
File:Echinopsis lageniformis 436050.jpg	Echinopsis lageniformis Template:Au (sometimes in Trichocereus)	Bolivia.
	Echinopsis lateritia Template:Au
	Echinopsis luisramirezii Template:Au
File:Flores de Echinopsis peruviana en el templo Chavín de Huántar 04.jpg	Echinopsis macrogona Template:Au
File:Echinopsis mamillosa Prague 2011 1.jpg	Echinopsis mamillosa Template:Au
File:Echinopsis marsoneri.jpg	Echinopsis marsoneri Template:Au	Bolivia to Argentina (Jujuy, Salta)
File:Echinopsis maximiliana1PCJO.jpg	Echinopsis maximiliana Template:Au
	Echinopsis minutiflora Template:Au
File:Echinopsis obrepanda in Roscoff garden.jpg	Echinopsis obrepanda Template:Au
	Echinopsis oligotricha Template:Au	Bolivia
File:Echinopsis oxygona 003.jpg	Echinopsis oxygona Template:Au (including E. adolfofriedrichii, E. brasiliensis, E. eyriesii, E. tubiflora)	Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina
	Echinopsis pachanoi Template:Au
	Echinopsis pampana Template:Au
	Echinopsis pamparuizii Template:Au
File:Echinopsis pentlandii (8416378897).jpg	Echinopsis pentlandii Template:Au
	Echinopsis pereziensis Template:Au
	Echinopsis pugionacantha Template:Au
	Echinopsis quadratiumbonata Template:Au
	Echinopsis rauschii Template:Au	Bolivia (Cochabamba)
File:Echinopsis rojasii albiflora 2.jpg	Echinopsis rojasii Template:Au	Bolivia
File:Chamaecereus saltensis.jpg	Echinopsis saltensis Template:Au
	Echinopsis sandiensis Template:Au
	Echinopsis schickendantzii Template:Au
File:Echinopsis schieliana1PCJO.jpg	Echinopsis schieliana Template:Au
	Echinopsis schreiteri Template:Au
	Echinopsis serpentina Template:Au
	Echinopsis smrziana Template:Au
	Echinopsis spachiana Template:Au
	Echinopsis spinibarbis Template:Au
	Echinopsis stilowiana Template:Au
	Echinopsis strigosa Template:Au
	Echinopsis sucrensis Template:Au
File:Trichocereus tacaquirensis 01.jpg	Echinopsis tacaquirensis Template:Au	Bolivia
	Echinopsis tarijensis Template:Au
File:Echinopsis tegeleriana1MW.jpg	Echinopsis tegeleriana Template:Au
	Echinopsis thelegona Template:Au
	Echinopsis thelegonoides Template:Au
File:Echinopsis tiegeliana pm 02.jpg	Echinopsis tiegeliana Template:Au
	Echinopsis torrefluminensis Template:Au	Bolivia
File:Trichocereus uyupampensis (5046769935).jpg	Echinopsis uyupampensis Template:Au
	Echinopsis vasquezii Template:Au
	Echinopsis volliana Template:Au
	Echinopsis walteri Template:Au
File:Echinopsis werdermannii 1.jpg	Echinopsis werdermannii Template:Au (sometimes in E. oxygona)	Paraguay
File:Echinopsis yuquina 1.jpg	Echinopsis yuquina Template:Au

In addition, many hybrids exist, mostly between similar species, such as the cross between Echinopsis pachanoi (formerly Trichocereus macrogonus var. pachanoi) and E. eyriesii (now E. oxygona) which was sold under the name "Trichopsis pachaniesii" by Sacred Succulents.

Distribution

Echinopsis species are native to South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay).<ref name=POWO_30001009-2/> They thrive in desert grasslands, shrubland, and in situations where the soil is sandy or gravelly, such as the sides of hills in the crevices of rocks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Cultivation

File:Echinopsis.ogv

Time-lapse video of a blooming echinopsis

The growing and resting seasons for Echinopsis are the same as for Echinocactus.Template:Citation needed Research by J. Smith (former Curator at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) showed that species like the Chilean Echinopsis cristata and its Mexican relatives thrive if potted in light loam, with a little leaf mould and a few nodules of limestone. The limestone keeps the soil open; it is important that the soil should be well drained.

Gallery

• Echinopsis oxygona visited by a European honeybee; Kfar Blum Kibbutz garden, Israel.
  Echinopsis oxygona visited by a European honeybee; Kfar Blum Kibbutz garden, Israel.
• Echinopsis oxygona
  Echinopsis oxygona

Bibliography

• Edward F. Anderson, The Cactus Family (Timber Press, 2001) Template:ISBN, pp. 255–286
• K. Trout, Trout's Notes on San Pedro & related Trichocereus species (Sacred Cacti 3rd ed. Part B) (Moksha Press, 2005) Template:ISBN

External links

• Cactus Culture for Amateurs by W. Watson (1889)
• Cactus Culture Volume 1: Trichocereus by Patrick Noll
• SucculentCity: Plant Profiles, Photographs & Cultivation Data
• Kuentz: Echinopsis (in French)
• Lohmueller: Echinopsis
• Mattslandscape; Echinopsis hybrids-growing culture Template:Webarchive
• Vimeo Video Echinopsis Cacti in Bloom
• echinopsis.com Photographs, Videos
• Echinopsis Cacti Flower Photographs, Videos