Not only are there many species of _Echinocereus_, popularly called the
“hedgehog cactuses,” but there are also several varieties of
_Echinocereus triglochidiatus_. One variety sometimes develops into
cushion-like mounds composed of several hundred oblong stems huddled
together with a seemingly precarious foothold in crevices among the
rocks or on rocky slopes of the Mojave desert. Another grows in loose
clusters of cylindrical stems in the higher desert grasslands up to the
oak belt in the mountains of southern New Mexico, Arizona, and northern
Mexico. When blossoming in May and June these clustering “hedgehogs”
create a spectacular display.
_Echinocereus triglochidiatus_ Cactus Family
[Illustration: CLARETCUP ECHINOCEREUS]