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Cactaceae
Mojave Mound Cactus Flower
Echinocereus mojavensis
Fierce beauty born of austerity.
- Family
- Cactaceae
- Genus
- Echinocereus
- Native to
- southwestern United States
- Bloom season
- Spring
- Type
- cactus
- Height
- 10–30 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- rocky, sandy, extremely well-drained
- Water
- very low; minimal supplemental water
- Hardiness
- 5–9
- Lifespan
- perennial; very slow-growing, decades-long
Did you know
- The large, vivid flowers are wildly disproportionate to the small cactus body — a single bloom can be wider than the stem.
- It forms dense mounds of up to 500 clustered stems over many decades, creating impressive cushion-like colonies.
- The flowers stay open for several days, closing at night and reopening each morning — unusual for cactus flowers.
- It is one of the most cold-hardy cacti, surviving winter temperatures down to -23°C (-10°F) under snow cover.
- Cactus bees (Diadasia) are specialist pollinators that have co-evolved with Echinocereus flowers.
Color meanings
Red
desert fire and passion
Magenta
tenacious vitality