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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.
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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. |
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
(It might be noted that this is not true of the closely related
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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.
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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.
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Photo
and © copyright by
Andrea B. (Bologna, Italy)
http://www.cactusfriends.com/Andrea/index.html
F. latispinus has flowers about 4 cm across, providing a welcome burst
of colour at a time of year when not many cacti are in bloom.
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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.
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Cultivation
and Mail Sale 
