Ferocactus

File:Ferocactus cylindraceus 12.jpg

Ferocactus cylindraceus, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada, USA

File:Ferocactus-echidne01.jpg

Ferocactus echidne

Ferocactus is a genus of large barrel-shaped cacti, mostly with large spines and small flowers. There are about 30 species included in the genus. They are found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

Description

The young specimens are columnar but as they grow older ribs form and they take on a barrel form. Most of the species are solitary but some, such as Ferocactus robustus and F. glaucescens, have clustering habits. The flowers are pink, yellow, red or purple depending on the species, and the petals sometimes have a stripe of a darker colour.

Habitat

They are desert dwellers and can cope with some frost and intense heat. The typical habitat is hot and very arid, and the plants have adapted to exploit water movement to concentrate their biomass in areas where water is likely to be present. Like Sclerocactus, Ferocactus typically grow in areas where water flows irregularly or depressions where water can accumulate for short periods of time. They are most often found growing along arroyos (washes) where their seeds have been subjected to scarification due to water movement, but they oddly also tend to grow along ridges in spots where depressions have formed and can hold water for some period of time.

Adaptations

Ferocactus have very shallow root systems and are easily uprooted during flash floods. The "fishhook" spines and the armored web of spines enclosing the cactus body in many species of this genus are adaptations which allow the plant to move to more favorable locations. The seeds germinate in areas where water movement occurs or in areas where standing water accumulates for some period of time, and during flash floods, the hooked spines allow the plants to be caught on waterborne debris, uprooted and carried to areas where water tends to accumulate.

Cultivation

In cultivation Ferocactus require full sun, little water, and good drainage. They are popular as houseplants. They cannot tolerate freezing temperatures for extended periods, which typically cause them to yellow, bleach, then slowly die. Propagation is usually from seeds, but clustering species such as Ferocactus robustus and F. glaucescens can be propagated by removing a rooted offset and planting it.

Ecology

Many ferocactus species are ant plants, exuding nectar along the upper meristem from extrafloral nectaries above each areole, and hosting ant colonies.

Species

Section	Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
Section Bisnaga	File:Ferocactus echidne 01.jpg	Ferocactus echidne	Sonora Barrel Cactus, Coville's Barrel Cactus, Emory's Barrel Cactus, Traveler's Friend	Mexico
	File:Ferocactus flavovirens (5753683467).jpg	Ferocactus flavovirens		Mexico.
	File:Ferocactus glaucescens.jpg	Ferocactus glaucescens		Hidalgo, México.
	File:Ferocactus haematacanthus 2.jpg	Ferocactus haematacanthus (Salm-Dyck) Bravo ex Backeb. & F.M.Knuth<ref name="GRINSpecies">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| ||Mexico.
	File:Ferocactus hamatacanthus pm.JPG	Ferocactus hamatacanthus (Muehlenpf.) Britton & Rose	Turk's-Head Barrel Cactus, Biznaga-barril Costillona	Chihuahuan Desert of north-western Mexico, New Mexico, and south-western Texas.
	File:Ferocactus histrix (5761384470).jpg	Ferocactus histrix (DC.) G.E.Linds.	Electrode Cactus	Mexico.
	File:Ferocactus recurvus, a Devil's Tongue Barrel Cactus (9330444754).jpg	Ferocactus latispinus (Haw.) Britton & Rose		southeastern Durango, through Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, east to the western parts of San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo and Puebla, as well as to eastern Jalisco, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Mexico State.
	File:Ferocactus lindsayi 1.jpg	Ferocactus lindsayi		Mexico (Michoacán, Guerrero)
	File:Ferocactus macrodiscus.jpg	Ferocactus macrodiscus		Mexico.
	File:Ferocactus schwarzii (19446536634).jpg	Ferocactus schwarzii	Schwarz's Barrel Cactus	Mexico.
Section Ferocactus	File:Ferocactus alamosanus (Jardin des Plantes de Paris).jpg	Ferocactus alamosanus		Mexican state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico
	File:Ferocactus chrysacanthus 2.jpg	Ferocactus chrysacanthus		Mexico.
	File:Ferocactus cylindraceus 1.jpg	Ferocactus cylindraceus (Engelm.) Orcutt	California Barrel Cactus, Biznaga-barril cilíndrica	eastern Mojave Desert and western Sonoran Desert Ecoregions in: Southern California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah in the Southwestern United States; and Baja California, and Sonora state in Northwestern Mexico.
	File:Ferocactus diguetii pm.jpg	Ferocactus diguetii		Mexico.
	File:Ferocactus rectispinus - 2.jpg	Ferocactus emoryi (Engelm.) Orcutt	Emory's Barrel Cactus, Biznaga-barril de Emory	Mexico (Sonora, Sinaloa and Baja California Sur) and in the United States (Arizona).
	File:Ferocactus fordii.JPG	Ferocactus fordii		Baja California in Mexico.
	File:Ferocactus gracilis 01.JPG	Ferocactus gracilis H.E.Gates	Fire Barrel Cactus	Mexico.
	File:Ferocactus herrerae (26704873710).jpg	Ferocactus herrerae	Twisted Barrel Cactus	Mexico (Sinaloa, Sonora)
	File:Ferocactus johnstonianus 1115.jpg	Ferocactus johnstonianus Britton & Rose	Johnston's Barrel Cactus	Angel de la Guardia Island, Baja California, Mexico.
	File:Glandulicactus mathssonii SB 1449.jpg	Ferocactus mathssonii		Mexico (Guanajuato to San Luis Potosí)
	File:Ferocactus peninsulae HabitusFlowers Bln0906a.jpg	Ferocactus peninsulae (F.A.C.Weber) Britton & Rose		Mexican state of Baja California Sur.
	File:Ferocactus pilosus (5699776889).jpg	Ferocactus pilosus	Mexican Lime Cactus, Viznaga de Lima	Méxican states of Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosí, and Tamaulipas
	File:Ferocactus pottsii pottsii BotGardBln07122011E.jpg	Ferocactus pottsii		Mexico.
	File:Ferocactusrobustus.jpg	Ferocactus robustus		Puebla and Veracruz in Mexico.
	File:Ferocactus santa-maria-IMG 1931.jpg	Ferocactus santa-maria	Santa-Maria Barrel Cactus	Mexico.
		Ferocactus tiburonensis		Mexico (Gulf of California: Tiburon Island)
	File:Ferocactus Townsendianus in Jardin de Cactus on Lanzarote, June 2013 (2).jpg	Ferocactus townsendianus	Townsend Barrel Cactus	Mexico.
	File:Sclerocactus unc wrig Flower.jpg	Ferocactus uncinatus (Galeotti) Britton & Rose		Mexico, New Mexico, Texas
	File:Ferocactus viridescens 2.jpg	Ferocactus viridescens (Torr. & A.Gray) Britton & Rose	San Diego Barrel Cactus, Biznaga-barril Verdosa	northern Baja California, Mexico and California
	File:Ferocactus wislizeni338980330.jpg	Ferocactus wislizeni (Engelm.) Britton & Rose	Fishhook Barrel Cactus, Candy Barrel Cactus, Biznaga-barril de Nuevo México<ref name="GRINSpecies"/><ref name="ITIS">{{#if:19795	wrap|_template=cite web|_exclude=id,ID,taxon	url = https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=19795	title = Ferocactus	publisher = Integrated Taxonomic Information System }}	Template:Citation error }}</ref>||southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

Formerly placed here

• Sclerocactus brevihamatus tobuschii (W.T.Marshall) N.P.Taylor (as F. tobuschii (W.T.Marshall) N.P.Taylor)
• Sclerocactus glaucus (K.Schum.) L.D.Benson (as F. glaucus (K.Schum.) N.P.Taylor)
• Sclerocactus mesae-verdae (Boissev. & C. Davidson) L.D.Benson (as F. mesae-verdae (Boissev. & C.Davidson) N.P.Taylor)
• Sclerocactus pubispinus (Engelm.) L.D.Benson (as F. pubispinus (Engelm.) N.P.Taylor)<ref name="GRINSpecies"/>

References

• The species list is referenced in part from cactiguide.com which is in turn referenced from several books which are listed on that site. The principal book listed there is The Cactus Family by Edward F. Anderson, (2001).

External links

• {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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