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Ferocactus santa-maria (santamariae)
(Syn: Ferocactus peninsulæ v. santa-maria)
CACTUS ART
NURSERY

Cultivation and Mail Sale
of Cacti and Succulents.


F. santa-mariae
Is a beautiful plant with stout, fierce red spines.
 

Description:  F. santa-maria is a massively spined barrel cactus, usually solitary. It is a close relative of Ferocactus peninsulae.
Stem: Spherical to shortly columnar, up to 75 cm high, and 25 cm wide.
Ribs: About 13, blunted, straight.
Areoles: Large, oval, 2 cm long and 12 mm wide, with yellow-brown felt.
Central spines: 4, quite straight and hooked up to 4.5 cm long, the lower three (middle) are the longest, flattened, sometimes curved at the apex..
Radial spines: About 15, the upper 12 bristle-like, light colored, the lower 3 look like the middle ones, and are often counted along with them, in which case the central spines are 7 and the radial 12
Areolar glands: They are found between the flower’s bud and the spine cluster in the flowering areoles.
Flower: 3.5 to 6 cm long and 4 to 7 cm wide, yellow or straw-yellow with a pale-red center line on the petals, pleasant-smelling.
Blooming season: August-September.
Fruit: Yellow or yellowish green, fleshy, 2 to 5 cm long and 2 to 3,5 cm wide, with lasting Perianth.  Fruit wall approx.. 3 mm thick, pulp extraordinarily juicy, at the beginning slimily, glassily, with fruity taste soon drying, fruit then opening by a basal pore.
Seed: dark-brown or black, 2-2.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide; Testa with a fine polygonal network;
Hilum small, approximately 0,5 mm in diameter.
 

Cultivation: Slow growing to start, but it does well under cultivation.  Use very draining soil, water during the aestival growth cycle (this plant need plenty of water).  But it's necessary to avoid 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 scars or even fungal infections and death.
Needs full sun. Keep dry at 10°C in winter, but it can tolerate sporadic light frost.

Reproduction: Seeds are the only way of reproducing.

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

Photo gallery Ferocactus

 


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Family: Cactaceae (Cactus Family) 

Scientific Name: Ferocactus santa-maria Britton & Rose

The variety name is occasionally spelled santamariae.

Origin: Mexico, southwest of the Baja California south, Santa Maria Bay, with San Carlos and Isla Magdalena.

Synonyms:

  • Ferocactus townsendianus Britton & Rose
  • Echinocactus santa-maria Rose ex Schick.
  • Ferocactus townsendianus var. santa maria (Britton & Rose) G. E. Lindsay
  • Ferocactus peninsulæ v. santa-maria (B. & R.) N.P. Taylor
 

 


 

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.