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The distribution of Echinopsis is similar to that of Echinocactus, species being found in Chili, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, &c. They grow only in situations where the soil is sandy or gravelly, or on the sides of hills in the crevices of rocks. Cultivation.
They come next to Cereus, and are distinguished as follows: ECHINOPSIS. Stem as in Echinocactus, but the flowers are produced low down from the side of the stem, and the flower tube is long and curved. PILOCEREUS. Stem tall, columnar, bearing long silky hairs as well as spines; flowers in a head on the top of the stem, rarely produced.
The above is a key to the genera on the plan of the most recent botanical arrangement, but for horticultural purposes it is necessary that the two genera Echinopsis and Pilocereus should be kept up.
From a horticultural point of view, there is perhaps no good reason for keeping the above three genera and Cereus separate; but we follow Kew in the arrangement adopted here. The genus Echinopsis, as now recognised by most English botanists and cultivators, comprises about thirty species, most of which have been, or are still, in cultivation.
The growing and resting seasons for Echinopsis are the same as for Echinocactus, and we may therefore refer to what is said under that genus for general hints with regard to the cultivation of Echinopsis in this country.
For the several species of Opuntia and Echinopsis, which are sufficiently hardy to be cultivated on a sunny rockery out of doors, it will be found a wise precaution to place either a pane of glass or a handlight over the plants in wet autumns and during winter, not so much to serve as protection from cold as to shield them from an excess of moisture at a time when it would prove injurious.
Writing about Echinopsis cristata, which he grew and flowered exceptionally well, he says: "This showy plant is a native of Chili, and, like its Mexican allies, thrives if potted in light loam, with a little leaf mould and a few nodules of lime rubbish. The latter are for the purpose of keeping the soil open; it is also necessary that the soil should be well drained.
For the genera Cereus, Echinopsis, Echinocactus, Mamillaria, Opuntia, and Melocactus, a moist tropical house is provided, and in April the plants are freely watered at the root, and syringed overhead both morning and afternoon on all bright days. This treatment is continued till the end of July, when syringing is suspended, and the water supplied to the roots gradually reduced.
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