page_title: Echinocereus dasyacanthus
section_title: Flowers
hierarchical_section_title: Echinocereus dasyacanthus / Description / Flowers
caption_attribution_description: English: Echinocereus dasyacanthus
context_page_description: Echinocereus dasyacanthus is a member of the cactus family, Cactaceae. It is one of about 2000 total species belonging to this family. The cactus is commonly known as Texas rainbow cactus because of the subtle rings or bands of contrasting colors along the stem of the plant. Not all Texas rainbow cacti have the "rainbow" coloration on their stems. Another common name is spiny hedgehog cactus.
  E. dasyacanthus can be identified as a tetraploid with predominantly yellow flowers. Experiments suggest this is due to the hybridization of E. dasyacanthus and E. coccineus. The E. dasyacanthus received its specific epithet from the two Greek words dasys and akantha, which mean "shaggy" and "thorns" respectively.
context_section_description: The flowering season for E. dasyacanthus is between the months of March and May.  The large flower of the plant grow at the sides of the stem above the areoles close to the stem apex.  The flowers are typically 8–12 cm long and 7–11 cm wide.  The flowers smell sweet and are pollinated by bees.  In the Trans-Pecos region of Texas the flowers are usually bright yellow with a green throat.  Other color the flowers may be include dark to pale yellow, canary yellow, golden yellow or deep red to rose pink.  Since this taxon of cacti are mostly yellow flowered, flowers that are beta cyanic and orange are less common.  The tepals are relatively thick and durable  compared to E. reichenbachii, but thin and soft compared to E. coccineus.  The stamens of the flowers have filaments resulting in the floral throat being filled with a funnel of yellow anthers.
caption: Flower of E. dasyacanthus or Texas Rainbow Cactus
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