See text Wilcoxia Britton & Rose Echinocereus is a genus of ribbed, usually small to medium-sized, cylindrical shaped cacti, comprising about 70 species native to the southern United States and Mexico in very sunny, rocky places.

[3] The species of the genus Echinocereus grow solitary or branching with prostrate to erect shoots that are spherical to cylindrical.

On the tips of the 4 to 26 ribs, which are mostly clear and only rarely resolved into humps, are the areoles, from which differently shaped spines can arise.

The sometimes fragrant fruits contain broadly oval, black, tuberous seeds 0.8 to 2 millimeters long.

In the wild, several of the species are cold hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as −23 °C, but only in dry conditions.

The following species are recognized in the genus Echinocereus by Plants of the World Online:[9] separated by sections established in Phylogeny in Echinocereus (Cactaceae) based on combined morphological and molecular evidence: taxonomic implications 2017.