Echinocereus arizonicus

Echinocereus arizonicus is a species of cactus native to the Chihuahuan Desert region of Chihuahua, southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona, as well as in the Superstition and Mescal Mountains of Central Arizona at elevations between 1400 to 1900 meters.

Description
Plants grow in small clumps. Stems are cylindric with 8–13 ribs, measuring 10–40 × 5–10 cm. Areoles are spaced 10–15 mm apart. Spines vary, being straight or contorted. Each areole has 1–8 central spines, 15–50 mm long, and 7–14 radial spines, 5–25 mm long, initially yellowish to brownish but turning gray. Echinocereus arizonicus has deep red to bright orange-red flowers, sometimes with a lighter yellowish-green center. , 5.5–7 × 3.5–5 cm, with a flower tube of 25–35 mm that has short spines and 2 mm hairs. Fruits are green with a brownish tinge, 20–30 mm, and have white pulp. The chromosome count is 2n = 22.

Taxonomy
An endangered variable of the species "Echinocereus triglochidiatus arizonicus" is found exclusively in sections of the Superstition, Mescal, and Pinal Mountains. Genetic studies have indicated that this variable of the species does not occur outside these mountain ranges.

Common names include "Arizona claret-cup cactus" and "Arizona hedgehog cactus."