[134] Erinaceus europaeus, Hedgehog

[134] Erinaceus europaeus, Hedgehog

Introduction

Erinaceus europaeus, the Hedgehog, is a small mammal now rarely seen in Britain, easily recognisable from its spines.

There are seventeen species of Hedgehog. This one is the European Hedgehog or West European Hedgehog or Common Hedgehog. Hedgehogs have also been called hedgepigs, furze-pigs and urchins.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordata

Class – Mammals

Order – Eulipotyphia (Hedgehogs, shrews and moles)

Family – Erinaceidae (Hedgehogs and gymnures)

Subfamily – Erinaceinae (Hedgehogs)

Genus – Erinaceus

Scientific Name – Erinaceus europaeus

Name

The name hedgehog comes from Middle English hedge-hog because it frequented hedges and had a pig-like snout.

Furze is an old name for the very prickly plant [351] Gorse. Urchin, coming from the Latin for hedgehog ericius, now survives meaning a mischievous child or ragamuffin, and more often in the name sea urchin. [Sorry, no sea urchins to come in this blog.]

Erinaceus is another form of the Latin for hedgehog.

Description

Much of taxonomy has been completely restructured over recent years following DNA analysis methods. Hedgehogs used to be in the order Insectivora, although they are not insectivores. This general grouping was shown to be paraphyletic and so new orders have been defined. Erinaceidae remains as a family – it consists of hedgehogs and a group of obscure small mammals call moonrats or gymnures.

Hedgehogs are covered in spines, which makes them superficially look like the unrelated species of porcupines and the Echidna. They can roll into a ball, which leaves them well defended by the spines.

They are nocturnal and omnivorous and will eat earthworms, insects, millipedes, slugs and snails and occasionally, mushrooms, roots and berries. They compete with Badgers for food and their man predators are Badgers.

Hibernation

They may hibernate in winter and during hibernation their body temperature reduces from about 30-35 ˚C to 2-5˚C. They may wake once or twice to move their nests during hibernation.

Habitat and use

The European Hedgehog is native to Western Europe but has been introduced elsewhere. It is now an invasive species in New Zealand and in some island in the Hebrides.

They live in a variety of habitats but are rare in coniferous woodland, marsh and moorland. They need suitable locations for hibernation and are now mostly found in gardens, parks and open land near human settlements.

Numbers have been declining in Britain but are still estimated at about a million.

They are a protected species and may not be kept as pets but other species of hedgehog are kept as pets. I think they are more popular in the USA (where there are no native hedgehogs.)

Other Notes

Significant numbers are killed while crossing roads.

It is no surprise to see anthropomorphised hedgehogs in Children’s literature such as Beatrix Potter. I suppose I also have to mention Sonic the Hedgehog, a very popular character in the world of computer games and spinoff films.

It is said that all hedgehogs have hundreds of Hedgehog Fleas (Archaeopsylla erinacei) but those in New Zealand have none. Hedgehogs survived the long journey but the fleas did not.

I have only seen three hedgehogs in the last fifty years but I have been able to photograph two of them. My most recent sightings have been in urban locations within the town of Cheltenham.

See also

We do have moles and some species of shrews but you are very unlikely to see one. To be honest you may never see a hedgehog.

[120] Echinopsis Species, Hedgehog Cactus

[120] Echinopsis Species, Hedgehog Cactus

Introduction

Echinopsis is a large genus of cactus plants grown indoors in the UK as houseplants. Their flowers are rare but spectacular.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Division – Vascular Plants

Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

Order – Caryophyllales

Family – Cactaceae

Subfamily – Cactoideae

Tribe – Trichocreeae

Genus – Echinopsis

Scientific Name – Echinopsis species

Name

Cactus comes via Latin from the ancient Greek kaktos, a name used by Theophrastus (c 371 to 287 BC) for a spiny plant of unknown identity.

Cacti

There are about 2 000 species of Cacti (Singular: Cactus) in the family Cactaceae. With minor exceptions, all are succulents adapted to dry conditions. They are spiny but have no leaves. Following recent research, the subdivisions of Cactaceae are likely to be changed.

Some other plants like Aloes and [312] Stonecrops are succulent but not cacti.

Echinopsis

Echinopsis is a typical cactus with an enlarged horizontally serrated stem, no leaves, and viciously pointed sharp spines.

The side stems are similar but are rounded at both ends. When only a few centimetres long, these grow roots and they can be detached and planted (very carefully, with thick gloves) to form a new plant.

I bought a Hedgehog cactus 45 years ago and the pictures above are from a granddaughter (or grandson) produced by two generations of this budding process. it is not old enough yet to produce flowers but the original plant did flower when it was about thirty years old. The flowers are very impressive.

It takes a few days for the long flower stalk to emerge and the flowers, when they do open, are short-lived. They are at their best in the middle of the night. I think it flowers again every three years. (There is a three-year gap between the pairs of pictures above.)

Unfortunately, I cannot identify the species of this plant, so I will call it Echinopsis species.

Habitat and use

All but one species of cactus are native to America, but some have naturalized outside America. The only exception is a subspecies of Rhipsalis baccifera, believed to have been carried by migrating birds (or possibly very early shipping routes) to central Africa and Sri Lanka.

They are used to very dry, generally hot conditions and you won’t see one outside in Britain. They are not common as house plants except for the many cultivars of Schlumbergera know by names such as Christmas Cactus.

House Plants

This is my only example of a house plant. I wanted to show you the flowers. There are many cultivated species of plants that can be grown as house plants and many of them are just smaller versions of garden plants.