''Echinocereus poselgeri'', also known as the dahlia cactus, is a species of

Echinocereus ''Echinocereus'' is a genus of ribbed, usually small to medium-sized, cylindrical shaped cacti, comprising about 70 species native to the southern United States and Mexico in very sunny, rocky places. Usually the flowers are large and the fru ...

. It is native to

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

and southern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Description

''Echinocereus poselgeri'' typically grows with several spreading shoots, forming a tuberous, dahlia-like rhizome. The dark blue-green shoots are slender, cylindrical, and taper to a point, measuring long and in diameter. They have eight to ten low, inconspicuous ribs that are not tuberculated. A single, slightly flattened, dark central spine points toward the shoot tip and is up to long. The eight to 16 whitish or grayish marginal spines, which have darker tips, are long. The funnel-shaped flowers are slightly pinkish-magenta, appearing near the tips of the shoots. They can be up to long and in diameter. The dark green to brown fruits are egg-shaped and covered with persistent wool and thorns.

Distribution

''Echinocereus poselgeri'' is growing in scrub valleys and hills of southern Texas, USA, and the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí, typically found at low elevations in sandy soil at elevations up to 1150 meters. File:Echinocereus poselgeri.jpeg, Plant growing in habitat in Nuevo León

Taxonomy

Charles Lemaire first described the species in 1868. The specific epithet poselgeri honors Heinrich Poselger, a German doctor, chemist, and botanist who collected succulent plants in North America from 1849 to 1851. Echinocereus poselgeri pm

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1280414 poselgeri Cacti of Mexico Cacti of the United States Flora of Texas