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Ferocactus latispinus
(Syn: Ferocactus recurvus)
CACTUS ART
NURSERY

Cultivation and Mail Sale
of Cacti and Succulents.


Ferocactus latispinus is a beautiful members of the genus Ferocactus and is commonly called barrel cactus, it is fairly popular in cultivation because it blooms very early. The young  spines have a great looking red.

 

Description: F. latispinus is a modest-sized ball-shaped or flat-topped barrel cactus, which normally remains a solitary plant, without dividing or producing offsets.
Stem: Flattened to spherical (in cultivation), diameter
25 to 45 cm, 35 cm tall, most often wider than tall.
Ribs: 13
to 23 ribs, sharp.
Areoles: Large, grey to blackish.
Central spines:
4 large of which  the lowest one  is conspicuously wider, thick and flat, apically bent downward and hooked up to 4cm long. and lie flat against the body. This prominent spine is usually red or grey-red, but may be amber-coloured or yellow (var. flavispinus). The other central spines are still stout, but much narrower and not curved. 
Radial spines: 6-12 up to 2,5cm long, spreading out , smaller, translucent yellow to reddish  straight that have almost no width at all.
Flowers: Beautiful “glassy” rich-purple
to straw-yellow, up to 6cm long and 3cm broad.
Blooming time: Late autumn  to early winter, usually in October, but it usually flowers only if the weather is warm and sunny ( need a fair amount of bright sunlight to form) This species blooms very early, many young plants will bloom when they reach 10 cm in diameter. It might be noted that this is not true of the closely related F. latispinus ssp. spiralis (syn. F. recurvus);

The 'latispinus' subspecies has 9-15 radial spines that range from thin & white to dark and stout, and is most prevalent.
The 'spiralis' subspecies has 5-7 stout radial spines.
 


Photo and © copyright by Andrea B. (Bologna, Italy)
http://www.cactusfriends.com/Andrea/index.html 

This species usually flowers only if the weather is warm and sunny ( need a fair amount of bright sunlight to form) It blooms very early, many young plants will bloom when they reach 10 cm in diameter.


 

Cultivation: Slow growing to start but does well under 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.

USE: The "Candy cactus" is used to make sweets. The middle is cored out and soaked in sugar, then chopped up and eaten.

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

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of F. latispinus.


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Family: Cactaceae (Cactus Family) 

Ferocactus

Scientific Name: Ferocactus latispinus (Haworth) Britton & Rose,
The Cactaceae; descriptions and illustrations of plants of the cactus family 3: 143-144, pl. 16, f. 3, 1922

Common Names: Devil's Tongue Barrel, Crow's Claw Cactus, Candy cactus

Origin:  This species has an extensive distribution in the dryer areas of central and southern Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and south)

Conservation status: Listed in CITES appendix 2.
 


Photo and © copyright by Andrea B. (Bologna, Italy)
http://www.cactusfriends.com/Andrea/index.html 

F. latispinus has bright purple flowers in winter, providing a welcome burst of colour at a time of year when not many cacti are in bloom.
 

 



 


 

 


Photo gallery: Alphabetical listing of Cactus and Succulent pictures published in this site.

Photo gallery Ferocactus

 

 

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.