Echinocereus papillosus

Echinocereus papillosus is a species of cactus native to Texas and Mexico.

Description
Echinocereus papillosus forms low clusters up to one meter in diameter with numerous shoots. The cylindrical, brownish-green shoots are mostly upright and can reach up to 7 cm in diameter. They have six to ten clearly tuberculous ribs. Each shoot has a single grayish central spine up to 1.5 cm long, and seven to eleven stiff, whitish radial spines, each 1 to 1.5 cm long.

The fragrant, funnel-shaped flowers are bright yellow with an orange-red to purple throat. They appear along the sides of the shoots, measuring 6 to 9 cm in length and 8 to 12 cm in diameter. The fruits are spherical.

Distribution
Echinocereus papillosus is found growing in sandy limestone loam in the Northeast Laredo into McMullen County and Alice, Texas and in the Mexican states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí around elevations of 400 meters. Plants are found growing along Stenocereus pruinosus, Selenicereus triangularis and Echinocereus enneacanthus var. carnosus .

Taxonomy
Karl Theodor Rümpler first described the species in 1885. The specific epithet "papillosus" comes from the Latin word for "papillose," referring to the tuberculous ribs of the species.