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  Ferocactus herrerae
(Syn: Ferocactus wislizenii var. herrerae)
CACTUS ART
NURSERY

Cultivation and Mail Sale
of Cacti and Succulents.


As the common name (Twisted barrel cactus)  suggests, its ribs form a spiral as the plant matures.
 

Description: Barrel shaped, solitary, up to 40 cm in diameter, 2m tall; 13 sharp ribs, occasionally spiraled; the number of spines varies depending on the plant maturity; 7 to 9 central spines, at least one flattened, larger; bristle-like radials. Its flowers colour is always yellow with reddish midribs and brown tips. Blooming time summer and early autumn. The fruit is fleshy, yellowish green.
 

Attention:
The beautiful spines that hook around can graph you if you get too close.
 


 

 

 

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Family: Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Origin Mexico (Sinaloa, Sonora), in coastal plains, at less than 400 m elevation.

Habitat: It grows in grit on the hill-sides. It gets lots of water in two months and lots of sun all year.

Use:
The fruits of this plant are edible, and in the past, the seeds have been used to make flour.

Common English Names include: Fishhook barrel cactus

Synonyms: Ferocactus wislizeni var. herrerae

Taxonomy note: F. herrerae (J. G. Ortega) along whit the allopatric species F. tiburonensis (G. E. Lindsay) are often cited as varieties of F. wislizeni by some botanists but all reports of intermediates with F. herrerae are based on normal F. herrerae  there is in fact a 100 kilometre gap in Sonora where neither barrel occurs, this give rise to some doubt that it belongs to the same species as F. wislizeni.
 

 


Description: Barrel shaped, solitary, up to 40 cm in diameter, 2m tall; 13 sharp ribs, occasionally spiraled; the number of spines varies depending on the plant maturity; 7 to 9 central spines, at least one flattened, larger; bristle-like radials. Its flowers colour is always yellow with reddish midribs and brown tips. Blooming time summer and early autumn. The fruit is fleshy, yellowish green

Cultivation:  Use very draining soil, water during the aestival growth cycle (this plant need plenty of water) But needs to be avoided  wetting the bodies of these plants while they are in sunlight. A wet cactus in the sun light can cause sun burning which can lead to scares or even fungal infections and death. Needs full sun. Keep dry at 10°C in winter, but can tolerate sporadic light frost.

Reproduction: Seeds are the only way of reproducing.

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Ferocactus peninsulae/wislizenii  complex (This Taxon has various synonyms ( like many other cacti) whit several controversial varieties and subspecies and comprises a multitude of different forms, but where each form is linked to others by populations of plants with intermediate characteristics):

Home | E-mail | Plant files | Mail Sale Catalogue | Links | Information | Search

All the information and photos in cactus art file are now available also in the new the Enciclopedia of Cacti. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.