Ferocactus wislizeni
Ferocactus hamatacanthus
Arizona barrel cactus, biznaga-barril de nuevo méxico, candy barrel cactus, compass barrel, fishhook barrel cactus
Texas barrel cactus, Turk's head
usually leaning southward in adulthood, depressed-spheric to ovoid-cylindric, 19–100(–300) × (20–)36–65(–100) cm.
erect, spheric to short cylindric, 10–63 × 7.5–30 cm;
ribs 10–17, crenate or sharply notched to undulate or deeply sinuate, hence ribs prominent to poorly defined, or stem sometimes tuberculate.
16–25(–29) per areole, central spines and larger radial spines dull pink, gray, or tan;
smallest spines per areole white, slender, often bristlelike, less than 1 mm diam., strongly contrasting with central spines;
central spines (1–)2–4, often with several, subulate subcentral spines, rigid;
principal central spine strongly hooked (very rarely straight), 36–120(–150) mm from curve of hook to base of spine, 1.5–4(–7) mm wide, strongly annulate, terete, ± angular, or flattened and often adaxially troughlike;
other central spines subulate, slightly smaller.
12–16(–28) per areole, pinkish brown and/or straw colored, often imparting appearance of dried grass clump, smallest spines per areole slender, sometimes bristlelike, less than 1 mm diam.;
central spines 4(–8) per areole, terete to strongly flattened, apically curved or strongly hooked, very flexible, sometimes almost papery, smooth to weakly annulate, principal central spine (40–)60–165 × (0.5–)1–3 mm.
similar in color inside and out, 4–8.5 × 4–6.5 cm;
inner tepals orange, red, or yellow with orange to red midstripes, or wholly yellow;
stigma lobes yellow, orange, or red.
yellow inside and out, 5.5–8(–10) × 6.5–9.5 cm;
inner tepals bright lemon yellow, very glossy;
stigma lobes pale yellow.
± readily dehiscent through basal pore, bright yellow, 35–60 × 18–40 mm, thick walled, leathery or fleshy, locule dry, hollow except for seeds.
indehiscent, green or maroon, 20–50 × 10–30 mm, thin walled, soft, juicy, locule filled with very juicy pulp and seeds.
(1.9–)2–2.5(–2.9) mm, essentially smooth with very narrow and slightly raised reticulations.
1–1.6 mm, pitted.
20–30(–40), shallowly notched immediately above each areole.
= 22.
Ferocactus wislizeni
Ferocactus hamatacanthus
The stems of Ferocactus wislizeni commonly lean southward, hence the vernacular name, compass barrel. Eventually they fall to the ground from their own weight, uprooting themselves.
Introgressive hybridization with Ferocactus cylindraceus is thus far not documented, but is often invoked as an explanation for difficulty in identifying individual specimens in or near the wide region of sympatry. The putative hybrids mostly vanish with sufficient expertise in identifying the “parental” species.
Ferocactus wislizeni barely extends into Mexico, where two allopatric species, F. tiburonensis (G. E. Lindsay) Backeberg and F. herrerae J. G. Ortega, often are cited as varieties of F. wislizeni. All reports of intermediates with F. herrerae are based on normal F. herrerae, the subtropical species (R. S. Felger 2000).
The finely reticulate seed coat of Ferocactus wislizeni is diagnostic among the species of Ferocactus in the flora.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Principal central spine angled or terete, hard, narrow, mostly 1-1.5 mm wide; stigma lobes 11-14; seeds 1.4-1.6 mm; mostly west of Pecos River in Chihuahuan desert scrub | var. hamatacant |
1. Principal central spine flattened, sometimes almost papery, broad, 1.3-3 mm wide; stigma lobes 8-10; seeds 1 mm; mostly east of Pecos River in Tamaulipan thorn scrub | var. sinuatus |
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