Echinocereus viridiflorus aka Nylon Hedgehog Cactus

Echinocereus viridiflorus belongs to the cactus family, Cactaceae. Its common names include nylon hedgehog cactus. Another name is green-flower hedgehog cactus. Kew calls it a succulent subshrub, a small, fleshy shrub. Its native range starts in southwestern South Dakota. It runs south to northern and western Texas. This puts it in the central and western United States. Kew places it in a zone with a temperate climate. The RHS says it is not native to Britain or Ireland.

LLIFLE lists it in Kansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. It also lists South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. It notes published reports from Colorado and northern Mexico, too. The Mexican records come from Chihuahua and Coahuila. Its range reaches the cooler grasslands of the Great Plains. It also grows in mountain areas of New Mexico. These mountain sites extend into central Colorado as well. LLIFLE calls it the member of its genus found farthest north. The records span both plains and upland sites.

Wild plants grow in grassland and mountain parkland. They also grow in woods with pinyon pines and junipers. Sites include foothills, open plains, washes, and the edges of woods. LLIFLE says the soil at these sites has gravel. It gives heights above sea level of about 2,950 to 8,860 feet [900–2,700 metres]. These records show where wild plants grow. They do not give a tested garden soil mix. The supplied species account gives no full-grown garden height or spread. The detailed stem and spine sizes refer to named varieties instead.

The species account shows greenish flowers that smell of lemon. It also notes that people grow this plant for display. The supplied text gives no bloom season for this species. It does not describe the fruit. Nor does it show which parts, if any, people can eat. It gives no findings on this species’ toxicity to people or pets. The detailed water and winter care notes cover other named taxa. They do not set this species’ care needs or frost limits.

LLIFLE says the species stays abundant across a broad range. It names no major threats. It also notes many groups of plants in protected sites. For these reasons, it gives a conservation status of Least Concern. Its recorded garden role is for display, not food or medicine.