Posted by
Baja_Costero (Baja California - Zone 11b) on Mar 15, 2020 7:39 PM concerning plant:
This genus of mostly spiny South American cacti takes its name from echinos (sea urchin, hedgehog) and opsis (similar to). It is fairly old (1837) and has at various times included Lobivia and Trichocereus, though the trend seems to be going toward separation at the moment. In the larger sense Echinopsis includes about 120 species of various sizes up to extra large, flowering below the apex with scaly pericarpels and often hairy/bristly tubes.
The members of this genus tend to make large flowers, open day or night, often white or creamy, but also pink, yellow, orange or red. A great number of Echinopsis hybrids have been bred for their flowers and some of them are named. It may be hard to pin down the name of a random hybrid (if it even has one) without seeing the flowers and having some experience. It may be hard to distinguish species from hybrids without knowing something about their origin.
This genus is subject to change. 40-50 Lobivia and ~60 Trichocereus species may soon be separated, leaving fewer plants in Echinopsis.