Ferocactus

Britton & Rose

Cact. 3: 123, figs. 128-153b, plates 12-16. 1922.

Common names: Barrel cactus biznaga
Etymology: Latin ferus, fierce or wild, referring to the horrid spines, and Cactus, the genus from which this segregate was removed
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Mentioned on page 97, 98, 206, 207, 21.
 TaxonIllustrator 
FNA4 P40 Lophophora williamsii.jpegLophophora williamsii
Ferocactus wislizeni
Ferocactus viridescens var. viridescens
Ferocactus cylindraceus
Ferocactus emoryi
Ferocactus hamatacanthus var. hamatacanthus
John Myers
John Myers
John Myers
John Myers
John Myers
John Myers

Plants erect or leaning, unbranched (rarely branched after apical injury) or sparingly branched from base with age in F. hamatacanthus and F. viridescens [or many branched], deep-seated in substrate only in F. viridescens. Roots diffuse. Stems unsegmented, green, ovoid, spheric, depressed-spheric, or cylindric [or flat-topped and flush with soil surface], (0–) 10–150 (–300) × 7.5–80 (–100) cm, glabrous; ribs [8–] 10–32 (–40), very prominent, rib crests straight or undulate, uninterrupted (deeply crenate in F. hamatacanthus or sometimes nearly tuberculate in immature plants); areoles nearly circular to oblong or elliptic, with fertile portion as short adaxial prolongation confluent with spine cluster or connected to spine cluster by very broad groove, short woolly; areolar glands usually present, sometimes very short and inconspicuous and/or short-lived, adaxial in areoles, ovoid to cylindric, blunt, peglike; cortex and pith hard, not mucilaginous. Spines 6–32 per areole, yellow, brown, or reddish to salmon with color hidden by very thin, light gray layer, usually large and coarse, annulate-ridged (smooth in F. hamatacanthus), longest spines 30–130 (–170) × 0.5–4.5 mm; radial spines 6–25 per areole, straight to curved, or crinkly bristles, 15–70 mm; central spines 1–4 per areole, flattened, angled, or terete, all or only largest adaxial spine hooked. Flowers diurnal, near stem apex, on large plants often several cm from stem apex, at adaxial edges of areoles (or at axillary end of short areolar groove), funnelform, 2.5–8.5 (–10) cm; outer tepals margins entire [fringed]; inner tepals yellow, orange, red, or purple (or white with purplish midstripes); ovary scaly, hairless, spineless; scales numerous, broadly rounded to lanceolate, margins ± scarious, minutely to conspicuously fimbriate or denticulate, obtuse; stigma lobes 13–20, yellow, orange, or red, unusually long, 7.5–15 mm. Fruits weakly dehiscent through basal pore (indehiscent in F. hamatacanthus), green, yellow, brownish, or dull purple-red [to bright red], spheric, ovoid, or cylindric, 20–60 × 10–40 mm, thick walled, leathery, hollow except for seeds and long persistent (thin walled and juicy in F. hamatacanthus), with numerous scales, spineless; pulp whitish or, if fruit hollow, absent; floral remnant persistent, dried tepals often remaining distinct, papery, and straight or wavy. Seeds black or dark-brown, spheric to subreniform, 1–2.9 [–3.2] mm; testa cells flat, weakly convex, concave, or flat with central depressions, pitted or reticulate. x = 11.

Distribution

sw United States, Mexico

Discussion

Species 25–30 (5 in the flora).

Recent molecular studies by C. A. Butterworth et al. (2002) suggested that Ferocactus may be an artificial assemblage of primitive species not closely related to each other.

Key

1 Stems 7.5-30 cm diam.; central spines very flexible, sometimes almost papery, (0.5-)1-3 mm wide; fruits thin walled, soft, green or maroon, indehiscent, locule juicy; El Paso and eastward in Texas Ferocactus hamatacanthus
1 Stems 10-65(-100) cm diam. or, if smaller at maturity, then from coastal California; central spines rigid, 1.5-4(-7) mm wide; fruits thick walled, leathery or fleshy, bright yellow (rarely reddish), ± dehiscent through small basal pore (abscission scar), locule dry; El Paso, Texas, and westward to California > 2
2 Areoles with spines of approximately uniform thickness, all robust and rigid, more than 1 mm thick; flowers brilliant red inside and outside [yellow in Mexico] Ferocactus emoryi
2 Areoles with slender, bristlelike spines less than 1mm thick in addition to thick, rigid spines, or if spines all rigid (in "F. eastwoodiae" form of F. cylindraceus), then flowers yellow inside and yellow to maroon outside > 3
3 Ribs 13-21[-34]; stems usually 10-20 × 10-20 cm; coastal California Ferocactus viridescens
3 Ribs (18-)21-31(-40); stems usually 45-150 × 25-65 cm; California deserts eastward > 4
4 Seeds nearly smooth with slightly raised reticulations; flower color similar inside and outside: red, orange, or yellow; largest central spine of each areole usually strongly hooked; adult plants usually leaning southward; flowering late summer; c Arizona eastward Ferocactus wislizeni
4 Seeds pitted; flower maroon (or partly so) outside, yellow inside; largest central spine of each areole curved or twisted, not strongly hooked; adult plants usu- ally erect; flowering spring to early summer; sc Arizona westward Ferocactus cylindraceus

No values specified.

... more about "Ferocactus"
cushionlike +
blunt +, ovoid +  and cylindric +
circular to linear +
deciduous +  and persistent +
connected +
nearly circular +  and oblong or elliptic +
Allan D. Zimmerman +  and Bruce D. Parfitt +
Britton & Rose +
hardened +
triangular +
terete +, angled +  and flattened +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
Barrel cactus +  and biznaga +
not mucilaginous +
sw United States +  and Mexico +
not separating +
Latin ferus, fierce or wild, referring to the horrid spines, and Cactus, the genus from which this segregate was removed +
8.5 cm85 mm <br />0.085 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
tubular +, urceolate +  and salverform +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (8.5 cm85 mm <br />0.085 m <br />) +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
hollow +, spineless +  and walled +
purple-red;dull;brownish;purple-red;dull;brownish;yellow;green +
persistent +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
cylindric +, ovoid +  and spheric +
Purple (?) +, Red (?) +, Orange (?) +  and Yellow (?) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
rudimentary +
flat +  and terete +
nearly +  and microscopic +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
tuberculate +
fluted;spheric;depressed-spheric or club-shaped +
13 cm130 mm <br />0.13 m <br /> (17 cm170 mm <br />0.17 m <br />) +
30mm +  and 130mm +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br />) +
obtuse +, denticulate +  and fimbriate +
deciduous +  and persistent +
not mucilaginous +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
, +  and whitish +
lindsay1956a +, taylor1979a +, taylor1983b +  and taylor1984a +
prominent +
broadly rounded +  and lanceolate +
arillate +  and strophiolate +
0.29 cm2.9 mm <br />0.0029 m <br /> (0.32 cm3.2 mm <br />0.0032 m <br />) +
dark-brown +  and black +
0.4mm;12mm +
spheric;subreniform +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.29 cm2.9 mm <br />0.0029 m <br />) +
radial +  and cluster +
reddish +  and salmon +
straight +  and curved +
deciduous +  and persistent +
6 (?) +  and 25 (?) +
annulate-ridged +, hairlike +, daggerlike +, subulate +  and acicular +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
hard +  and rigid +
decurrent +
unsegmented +
80 cm800 mm <br />0.8 m <br /> (100 cm1,000 mm <br />1 m <br />) +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (150 cm1,500 mm <br />1.5 m <br />) +
cylindric +, depressed-spheric +, spheric +  and ovoid +
succulent +
7.5cm;80cm +
red +, orange +  and yellow +
0.75 cm7.5 mm <br />0.0075 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
tuberculate +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Ferocactus +
Cactaceae subfam. Cactoideae +
straight +
distinct +
reticulate +  and pitted +
flat +, concave +  and convex +
dull +  and glossy +
annulate-ridged +
branched +  and unbranched +
epiphytic;epiphytic;epiphytic +
leaning +  and erect +
barrel-shaped +  and spheric +