Claret Cup - Echinocereus triglochidiatus

• 13 Jan, 2010
• 8 likes

Its many names - Claret Cup, Strawberry Cactus, or King's Crown Cactus - indicate a large and diverse family of plants of which eight different varieties have been recognized. It is a beautiful plant with long-lasting, waxy, scarlet flowers, which make it a favorite among gardeners. Echinocerens is from the Greek echinos, meaning "a hedgehog," and cereus meaning "a wax taper." These names refer to the plant's spiny resemblance to a hedgehog (or so the early Europeans thought) and the plant's shape, respectively. Triglochidialus means "three barbed bristles" and refers to the straight spines arranged in clusters of three