{{Short description|Genus of cacti}} {{For|the genus of sea urchin|Echinopsis (echinoderm)}} {{Distinguish|Echinops|Echidnopsis}} {{automatic taxobox |image = Echinopsis oxygona (3535885623).jpg |image_caption = ''[[Echinopsis oxygona]]'' |display_parents = 2 |taxon = Echinopsis |authority = [[Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini|Zucc.]] |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = [[#Species|See text]]. |type_species =''Echinopsis eyriesii'', now ''Echinopsis oxygona'' |synonyms = {{Genus list |Acantholobivia|Backeb. |Andenea|Kreuz. |Aureilobivia|Frič ex Kreuz., not validly publ. |Chamaecereus|Britton & Rose |Cinnabarinea|Frič ex F.Ritter |Cosmantha|Y.Itô |× Cosmopsis|Y.Itô |Echinonyctanthus|Lem. |Furiolobivia|Y.Itô |Helianthocereus|Backeb. |Hymenorebulobivia|Frič ex Kreuz., not validly publ. |Hymenorebutia|Frič ex Buining |Lobivia|Britton & Rose |Lobiviopsis|Frič ex Kreuz., not validly publ. |Megalobivia|Y.Itô, not validly publ. |Mesechinopsis|Y.Itô |Neolobivia|Y.Itô |Pilopsis|Y.Itô, not validly publ. |Pseudolobivia|(Backeb.) Backeb. |Salpingolobivia|Y.Itô |× Salpingolobiviopsis|Y.Itô |Scoparebutia|Frič & Kreuz. ex Buining |Soehrensia|Backeb. |Trichocereus|(A.Berger) Riccob. }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name=POWO_30001009-2/> }}
'''''Echinopsis''''' is a [[genus]] of [[Cactus|cacti]] [[native plant|native]] to South America, sometimes known as '''hedgehog cactus''', '''sea-urchin cactus''' or '''Easter lily cactus'''. {{As of|2025|November}}, [[Plants of the World Online]] used a broad [[Circumscription (taxonomy)|circumscription]] of the genus, resulting in about 80 accepted species, ranging from large and treelike types to small globose cacti. The name derives from ''echinos'' hedgehog or [[sea urchin]], and ''opsis'' appearance, a reference to these plants' dense coverings of spines.
They are remarkable for the great size, length of tube, and beauty of their flowers, borne upon generally small and dumpy stems.
== Taxonomy == Studies in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in several formerly separate genera being absorbed into ''Echinopsis''. When very broadly [[Circumscription (taxonomy)|circumscribed]], ''Echinopsis'' [[Sensu|sensu lato]] included over 100 species.<ref name=GuerMajuCornHern19>{{Cite journal |last1=Guerrero |first1=Pablo C. |last2=Majure |first2=Lucas C. |last3=Cornejo-Romero |first3=Amelia |last4=Hernández-Hernández |first4=Tania |date=2019 |title=Phylogenetic Relationships and Evolutionary Trends in the Cactus Family |journal=Journal of Heredity |volume=110 |issue=1 |pages=4–21 |doi=10.1093/jhered/esy064 |pmid=30476167 |name-list-style=amp }}</ref> Some genera have been absorbed and then accepted again. For example, the genus name ''Trichocereus'' was given to a number of columnar cacti in 1909 by [[Vincenzo Riccobono]]. The genus was subsumed into ''Echinopsis'' in 1974 by Friedrich, along with ''[[Lobivia]]''. In 2011, it was argued that ''Trichocereus'' was distinct from ''Echinopsis'',<ref name=Schi11>{{Citation |last=Schick |first=Robert |year=2011 |title=''Echinopsis'' sensu stricto and ''Trichocereus'': Differentiating the Genera |journal=Cactus and Succulent Journal |volume=83 |issue=6 |pages=248–255 |doi=10.2985/0007-9367-83.6.248 |s2cid=83700680 }}</ref> and a 2012 genetic and morphological study by Albesiano found ''Trichocereus'' to be monophyletic if it included three species of ''[[Harrisia (plant)|Harrisia]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Albesiano, Sofía |author2=Terrazas, Teresa | title=Cladistic Analysis of ''Trichocereus'' (Cactaceae: Cactoideae: Trichocereeae) Based on Morphological Data and Chloroplast Dna Sequences: Dedicated to Omar Emilio Ferrari (1936-2010) | journal= Haseltonia |volume=17 |year=2012 |pages= 3–23 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280989243 |doi=10.2985/1070-0048-17.1.2|s2cid=9835045 }}</ref>
A 2012 genetic analysis of chloroplast DNA indicated ''Echinopsis'' was made up of several divergent lineages.<ref name=Schlumpberger>{{cite journal |author1=Schlumpberger, Boris O. |author2=Renner, Susanne S. |title=Molecular phylogenetics of ''Echinopsis'' (Cactaceae): Polyphyly at all levels and convergent evolution of pollination modes and growth forms |journal= American Journal of Botany |year=2012 | volume=99 |issue=8 |pages=1335–49 | doi=10.3732/ajb.1100288 | pmid=22859654 |bibcode=2012AmJB...99.1335S |doi-access=free}}</ref> This was shown again in 2019.<ref name=GuerMajuCornHern19/> It was concluded that previous taxonomic confusion was due to [[convergent evolution]]: species in different lineages had evolved to have similar growth and/or to share [[pollinator]]s.<ref name=Schlumpberger/>
{{As of|2025|October}}, [[Plants of the World Online]] subsumed ''[[Soehrensia]]'', ''Chamaecereus'', ''Trichocereus'', and ''Lobivia'' into ''Echinopsis'', resulting in a genus of around 80 species.<ref name=POWO_30001009-2/>
=== Species === Species of ''Echinopsis'' accepted by [[Plants of the World Online]] {{as of|2025|November|lc=yes}}:<ref name=POWO_30001009-2>{{cite web | title=''Echinopsis'' Zucc. | website=Plants of the World Online | url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30001009-2 | access-date=2025-11-15}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Image !! Scientific name !! Distribution |- |[[File:Echinopsis boyuibensis1PCJO.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis albispinosa]]'' {{Au|K.Schum.}}<br/>(including ''E. silvestrii'') ||Argentina |- |[[File:Echinopsis ancistrophora1MW.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis ancistrophora]]'' {{Au|Speg.}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis angelesiae - Botanischer Garten, Dresden, Germany - DSC08882.JPG|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis angelesiae]]'' {{Au|(R.Kiesling) G.D.Rowley}} || |- |[[File:Lobivia arachnacantha (Echinopsis ancistrophora ssp. arachnacantha) 2.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis arachnacantha]]'' {{Au|(Buining & F.Ritter) Friedrich}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis arboricola]]'' {{Au|(Kimnach) Mottram}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis aurea Prague 2011 1.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis aurea]]'' {{Au|Britton & Rose}} ||Argentina |- |||''[[Echinopsis ayopayana]]'' {{Au|F.Ritter & Rausch}} || |- |[[File:Lobivia winteriana.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis backebergii]]'' {{Au|Werderm.}} || |- | ||''[[Echinopsis breviflora]]'' {{Au|(Backeb.) M.Lowry}} ||Argentina (Salta) |- |[[File:Echinopsis comarapana1PCJO.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis bridgesii]]'' {{Au|Salm-Dyck}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis bruchii (3496926845).jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis bruchii]]'' {{Au|(Britton & Rose) H.Friedrich & Glaetzle}} || |- |[[File:Lobivia caineana 31090.JPG|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis caineana]]'' {{Au|(Cárdenas) D.R.Hunt}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis Hammerschmidii (13626228803).jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis calochlora]]'' {{Au|K.Schum.}}<br/>(including ''E. hammerschmidii'') ||Bolivia to Brazil (Mato Grosso do Sul) |- |[[File:Lobivia calorubra VZ275 F1.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis calorubra]]'' {{Au|Cárdenas}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis6.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis camarguensis]]'' {{Au|(Cárdenas) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis candicans Sebastián Bressan Reinhard.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis candicans]]'' {{Au|(Gillies ex Salm-Dyck) D.R.Hunt}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis ancistrophora subsp. cardenasiana1PCJO.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis cardenasiana]]'' {{Au|(Rausch) Friedrich}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis caulescens]]'' {{Au|(F.Ritter) M.Lowry}} || |- | ||''[[Echinopsis chalaensis]]'' {{Au|(Rauh & Backeb.) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}}<br/>(sometimes in ''Trichocereus'') ||Peru |- |[[File:Echinopsis chamaecereus2.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis chamaecereus]]'' {{Au|H.Friedrich & Glaetzle}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis chrysantha GotBot 2015 001.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis chrysantha]]'' {{Au|Werderm.}} ||Argentina |- |[[File:Lobivia chrysochete var markusii 27502.JPG|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis chrysochete]]'' {{Au|Werderm.}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis cinnabarina.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis cinnabarina]]'' {{Au|(Hook.) Labour.}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis clavata 02 SSZ.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis clavata]]'' {{Au|(F.Ritter) D.R.Hunt}}<br/>(sometimes in ''Trichocereus'') ||Bolivia |- |[[File:Echinopsis crassicaulis (8410101402).jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis crassicaulis]]'' {{Au|(R.Kiesling) H.Friedrich & Glaetzle}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis peruviana (kunthiana).jpg|120px]] ||''[[Echinopsis cuzcoensis]]'' {{Au|(Britton & Rose) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}}<br/>(sometimes in ''Trichocereus'') ||Peru |- |[[File:Echinopsis densispina1MW.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis densispina]]'' {{Au|Werderm.}} ||Argentina |- |[[File:Lobivia ferox (3645399770).jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis ferox]]'' {{Au|(Britton & Rose) Backeb.}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis formosa446454867.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis formosa]]'' {{Au|(Pfeiff.) Jacobi ex Salm-Dyck}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis friedrichii]]'' {{Au|G.D.Rowley}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis haematantha1b.MW.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis haematantha]]'' {{Au|(Speg.) D.R.Hunt}} ||Argentina and Bolivia |- |||''[[Echinopsis hahniana]]'' {{Au|(Backeb.) R.S.Wallace}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis hertrichiana pm.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis hertrichiana]]'' {{Au|(Backeb.) D.R.Hunt}} || |- |[[File:2008 07 Botanical Garden Meran 71610R0413.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis huascha]]'' {{Au|(F.A.C.Weber) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || |- | ||''[[Echinopsis jajoana]]'' {{Au|(Backeb.) Blossf.}}<br/>(including ''E. sanguiniflora'') ||Argentina |- |[[File:Echinopsis lageniformis 436050.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis lageniformis]]'' {{Au|(C.F.Först.) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}}<br/>(sometimes in ''Trichocereus'') || Bolivia. |- |||''[[Echinopsis lateritia]]'' {{Au|Gürke}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis luisramirezii]]'' {{Au|(Lodé & F.Carlier) M.H.J.van der Meer}} || |- |[[File:Flores de Echinopsis peruviana en el templo Chavín de Huántar 04.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis macrogona]]'' {{Au|(Salm-Dyck) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis mamillosa Prague 2011 1.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis mamillosa]]'' {{Au|Gürke}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis marsoneri.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis marsoneri]]'' {{Au|Werderm.}} || Bolivia to Argentina (Jujuy, Salta) |- |[[File:Echinopsis maximiliana1PCJO.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis maximiliana]]'' {{Au|Heyder ex A.Dietr.}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis minutiflora]]'' {{Au|(Rausch) M.Lowry}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis obrepanda in Roscoff garden.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis obrepanda]]'' {{Au|(Salm-Dyck) K.Schum.}} || |- | ||''[[Echinopsis oligotricha]]'' {{Au|(Cárdenas) M.Lowry}} || Bolivia |- |[[File:Echinopsis oxygona 003.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis oxygona]]'' {{Au|(Link) Zucc. ex Pfeiff. & Otto}}<br/>(including ''E. adolfofriedrichii, E. brasiliensis, E. eyriesii, E. tubiflora'') || Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina |- |||''[[Echinopsis pachanoi]]'' {{Au|(Britton & Rose) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis pampana]]'' {{Au|(Britton & Rose) D.R.Hunt}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis pamparuizii]]'' {{Au|Cárdenas}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis pentlandii (8416378897).jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis pentlandii]]'' {{Au|(Hook.) Salm-Dyck ex A.Dietr.}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis pereziensis]]'' {{Au|Cárdenas}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis pugionacantha]]'' {{Au|Rose & Boed.}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis quadratiumbonata]]'' {{Au|(F.Ritter) D.R.Hunt}} || |- | ||''[[Echinopsis rauschii]]'' {{Au|Friedrich}} ||Bolivia (Cochabamba) |- |[[File:Echinopsis rojasii albiflora 2.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Echinopsis rojasii]]'' {{Au|Cárdenas}} ||Bolivia |- |[[File:Chamaecereus saltensis.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis saltensis]]'' {{Au|Speg.}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis sandiensis]]'' {{Au|Hoxey}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis schickendantzii]]'' {{Au|F.A.C.Weber}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis schieliana1PCJO.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis schieliana]]'' {{Au|(Backeb.) D.R.Hunt}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis schreiteri]]'' {{Au|(A.Cast.) Werderm.}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis serpentina]]'' {{Au|M.Lowry & M.Mend.}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis smrziana]]'' {{Au|Backeb.}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis spachiana]]'' {{Au|(Lem.) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis spinibarbis]]'' {{Au|(Otto ex Pfeiff.) A.E.Hoffm.}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis stilowiana]]'' {{Au|(Backeb.) J.G.Lamb.}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis strigosa]]'' {{Au|(Salm-Dyck) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis sucrensis]]'' {{Au|Cárdenas}} || |- |[[File:Trichocereus tacaquirensis 01.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis tacaquirensis]]'' {{Au|(Vaupel) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || Bolivia |- |||''[[Echinopsis tarijensis]]'' {{Au|(Vaupel) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis tegeleriana1MW.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis tegeleriana]]'' {{Au|(Backeb.) D.R.Hunt}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis thelegona]]'' {{Au|(F.A.C.Weber) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis thelegonoides]]'' {{Au|(Speg.) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis tiegeliana pm 02.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis tiegeliana]]'' {{Au|(Wessner) D.R.Hunt}} || |- | ||''[[Echinopsis torrefluminensis]]'' {{Au|M.Lowry}} ||Bolivia |- |[[File:Trichocereus uyupampensis (5046769935).jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis uyupampensis]]'' {{Au|(Backeb.) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis vasquezii]]'' {{Au|(Rausch) G.D.Rowley}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis volliana]]'' {{Au|(Backeb.) H.Friedrich & G.D.Rowley}} || |- |||''[[Echinopsis walteri]]'' {{Au|(R.Kiesling) H.Friedrich & Glaetzle}} || |- |[[File:Echinopsis werdermannii 1.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis werdermannii]]'' {{Au|Frič ex Fleisch.}}<br/>(sometimes in ''E. oxygona'') || Paraguay |- |[[File:Echinopsis yuquina 1.jpg|120px]]||''[[Echinopsis yuquina]]'' {{Au|D.R.Hunt}} || |} In addition, many hybrids exist, mostly between similar species, such as the cross between ''[[Echinopsis pachanoi]]'' (formerly ''Trichocereus macrogonus'' var. ''pachanoi'') and ''E. eyriesii'' (now ''E. oxygona'') which was sold under the name "Trichopsis pachaniesii" by Sacred Succulents.
==Distribution== ''Echinopsis'' species are native to South America ([[Argentina]], [[Bolivia]], [[Peru]], [[Brazil]], [[Paraguay]] and [[Uruguay]]).<ref name=POWO_30001009-2/> They thrive in desert grasslands, shrubland, and in situations where the soil is sandy or gravelly, such as the sides of hills in the crevices of rocks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sea-urchin cactus {{!}} Description, Distribution, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/sea-urchin-cactus |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
==Cultivation== {{MOS|date=October 2023|reason=style not being consistent with [[WP:NOTHOW]]}} [[File:Echinopsis.ogv|thumb|right|Time-lapse video of a blooming echinopsis]]
The growing and resting seasons for ''Echinopsis'' are the same as for ''Echinocactus''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} Research by J. Smith (former Curator at the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]]) showed that species like the [[Chile]]an ''Echinopsis cristata'' and its [[Mexico|Mexican]] relatives thrive if potted in light loam, with a little leaf mould and a few nodules of [[limestone]]. The limestone keeps the soil open; it is important that the soil should be well drained.
== Gallery == <gallery widths="190px" heights="180px" class="center" > Image:Echinopsis eyriesii.JPG|''Echinopsis oxygona'' visited by a European honeybee; Kfar Blum Kibbutz garden, Israel. Image:Echinopsis oxygona13213404.jpg|''Echinopsis oxygona''
</gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== * [[Edward F. Anderson]], ''[[The Cactus Family]]'' (Timber Press, 2001) {{ISBN|0-88192-498-9}}, pp. 255–286 * K. Trout, ''Trout's Notes on San Pedro & related Trichocereus species (Sacred Cacti 3rd ed. Part B)'' (Moksha Press, 2005) {{ISBN|0-9770876-0-3}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Echinopsis}} {{Wikispecies|Echinopsis}} * [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/3/5/13357/13357-h/13357-h.htm Cactus Culture for Amateurs] by W. Watson (1889) * [https://trichocereus.net/wp-content/uploads/Trichocereus%20Culture%20First%20Published%20Edition%20Cactus%20Cultivation.pdf Cactus Culture Volume 1: Trichocereus] by Patrick Noll * [http://succulentcity.googlepages.com/cactaceae-echinopsis SucculentCity: ''Plant Profiles, Photographs & Cultivation Data''] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050824211329/http://www.kuentz.com/noms/echinopsis.htm Kuentz: ''Echinopsis'' (in French)] * [http://www.f-lohmueller.de/botany/gen/e/Echinopsis.htm Lohmueller: ''Echinopsis''] * [http://www.mattslandscape.com/echinopsis_info/ ''Mattslandscape; Echinopsis hybrids-growing culture''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603032907/https://mattslandscape.com/echinopsis_info/ |date=2020-06-03 }} * [https://vimeo.com/122575482 Vimeo Video Echinopsis Cacti in Bloom] * [http://echinopsis.com/ echinopsis.com Photographs, Videos] * [http://echinopsisfreak.com/ Echinopsis Cacti Flower Photographs, Videos] {{Echinopsis}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q131726}}
[[Category:Echinopsis| ]] [[Category:Cacti of South America]] [[Category:Cereeae genera]] [[Category:Articles containing video clips]]