Abstract

A taxonomic treatment of three species of Texas desert and desert-margin cacti,Echinocereus enneacanthus Engelm.,E. dubius (Engelm.) Rumpler, andE. stramineus (Engelm.) Rumpler, is presented. Field studies show thatE. enneacanthus is a grassland and desert-margin species rarely found above altitudes of 2000 ft in Texas, whileE. dubius andE. stramineus are desert-margin and desert species not found below 2000 ft. Morphological studies make possible the identification of these species on the basis of the shape, size, and arrangement of the spines. The epidermal characteristics are discussed, and the possibility of the use of the epidermal cell patterns as identifying characters is postulated. The speciesE. enneacanthus is divided into three forms based on spine characters and habitat.

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