Cochemiea halei

Cochemiea halei is a species of Cochemiea found in Mexico.

Description
Cochemiea halei forms large clusters up to 2 meters in size. Individual shoots are cylindrical, 30-40 cm long, and 5-7.5 cm in diameter. The warts are short, and the axillae are woolly. It has 6-9 stiff, strong, reddish-brown central spines 2.0-2.5 cm long that turn gray with age. The 15-22 radial spines are initially reddish-brown and gray, 0.9-1.5 cm long.

The red flowers are vertical with a crooked-hemmed and 3.5-5 cm long with a long flower tube. The fruits are club-shaped, red, and up to 1.2 cm long. Seeds are reticulated.

Distribution
Cochemiea halei is found in Baja California Sur, Mexico, specifically on the islands of Magdalena and Santa Margarita at elevations of 10 to 100 meters. It grows on sand dunes on the beach along with Echinocereus barthelowanus, Opuntia pycnantha, Cochemiea dioica, and Stenocereus eruca.

Taxonomy
First described as Mammillaria halei in 1889 by American botanist Townshend Stith Brandegee, the specific epithet honors J.P. Hale, a landowner in Baja California who supported Brandegee's expedition. Frederick Arthur Walton reclassified the species to the genus Cochemiea in 1899.