About Cochemiea wrightii (Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow) Doweld
Cochemiea wrightii is a solitary growing cactus. It produces dark green, flattened shoots that range from spherical to shortly cylindrical, with a diameter between 3 and 8 cm (1.2 to 3.1 in). Its cylindrical warts do not exude milky sap, and its axillae are hairless and bare. This cactus can have up to 3 dark, hooked central spines, each measuring 1 to 1.2 cm (0.39 to 0.47 in) long. It also has up to 12 whitish marginal spines that are 8 to 12 millimeters long; the upper marginal spines are shorter and have dark tips. The flowers of Cochemiea wrightii are typically magenta to bright purple, and rarely white. They reach up to 2.5 cm (0.98 in) in both length and width, and have reflexed perianth segments. Its fruits are egg-shaped to spherical, purple, and up to 2.5 cm (0.98 in) long, holding black seeds. This species is distributed across the US states of Arizona and New Mexico, and the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua, growing at elevations between 1,000 and 2,200 m (3,300 to 7,200 ft). It occurs on sandy hills and in grasslands, growing alongside Echinocereus polyacanthus and Cochemiea saboae subsp. haudeana.
