Plant Description
Open or dense clusters, stems numbering up to 30. Many long spines give the plant a shaggy look.
Shaggy appearance compared to E. fasciculatus . The longest dagger-like central spine is flattened and white with a little twist.
Habitat
Sandy and rocky flats, hillsides, desert plains, gravelly slopes and mesas.
Flowers
Earliest cactus to bloom in spring. Produces cup-shaped, 3 inch wide blooms for several days. Shows varying shades of magenta (pinkish-purple) with a green stigma in the center. Flowers close at night. Borne at the upper half to one third of the stems
Stems
Usually 1 - 25 uncrowded stems, mostly erect, cylindric or somewhat tapering. 10 - 13 somewhat wavy ribs per stem. Many long spines obscure the stem color.
Areoles
These are structures unique to cacti, found on the stems, areas from which spines, flowers and fruits emerge.
Central spines often fading whitish, stout but flexible, often curved or twisted, usually flattened at the base, to 2 inches long. Radial spines similar but smaller, to 1 inch long. Spines can be bicolored or multicolored.
Fruit
Spiny subspherical to ovoid fruit to 1-1/4 inch long by 1 inch wide varying in color from green when young to red when mature. Fruit sheds spines at maturity.