Echinocereus coccineus / Scarlet hedgehog cactus

Echinocereus coccineus Engelm.

Common names: Scarlet hedgehog cactus, claret cup, Arizona hedgehog

Apache: xucbi (Castetter and Opler 1936:59)

Navajo: tjeenáyookísih – “heart, twisted” (from how it makes one’s heart feel) (Elmore 1944:64)

Location in Texas: W & C TX; rare in Travis Co.

Form: columnar, up to 16 in. tall.

Flowers: Apr-June (red).

Food

Fruits – eaten fresh by the Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache (Castetter and Opler 1936:41).

Notes – the fruits were considered poisonous rather than edible by the Navajo (Elmore 1944:64).

Medicine

Fruits – used as a heart stimulant by the Navajo (Elmore 1944:64).

Echinocereus coccineus (Engelm.) Engelm. in GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-05-02.
Echinocereus coccineus subsp. coccineus observed in United States of America by Elliott Gordon (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Echinocereus coccineus subsp. rosei (Wooton & Standl.) W.Blum & Rutow observed in United States of America by Craig Martin (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
Echinocereus coccineus subsp. transpecosensis W.Blum, Oldach & J.Oldach observed in United States of America by Cody Stricker (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Echinocereus coccineus subsp. roemeri (Muehlenpf.) W.Blum, Mich.Lange & Rutow observed in United States of America by David Peden (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
Echinocereus coccineus subsp. transpecosensis W.Blum, Oldach & J.Oldach observed in United States of America by Jo Roberts (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Leave a Reply

Discover more from Paleo Foraging

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading