Echinocereus knippelianus

Echinocereus knippelianus is an unusual and distinctive Echinocereus from NE Mexico where it is found in arid subscrub at high altitude in the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains where it often grows amongst shade-giving rocks and nurse plants on the margins of woodland and heavily-grazed grassy meadows. Although no relation to Lophophora williamsii, it is often locally know as Peyote Verde and shares with that genus a similarly large tap root to withstand extremes of drought and which it uses to pull itself down into the substrate becoming acaulescent. It flowers freely and the colour is somewhat variable from soft white to soft pink or pinkish-purple and with all shades inbetween, often white with a faint pinkish medial stripe. Echinocereus knippelianus has a stout, globose but usually somewhat elongated body that is distinctive on account of its dark green colour, broadly-spaced ribs and relative lack of spines. Sometimes with a solitary stem, it is more usual to produce a slow-growing clump.

A desirable and highly attractive cactus, Echinocereus knippelianus is not often seen in collections yet it is a perfect and undemanding plant for both connoisseurs and beginners alike.