''Ferocactus latispinus'' is a species of

barrel cactus Barrel cacti are various members of the two genera ''Echinocactus'' and '' Ferocactus'', endemic to the deserts of Southwestern North America southward to north central Mexico. Some of the largest specimens are found in the Sonoran Desert in S ...

native to Mexico. Originally described as ''Cactus latispinus'' in 1824 by English naturalist

Adrian Hardy Haworth Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the m ...

, it gained its current name in 1922 with the erection of the genus ''

Ferocactus ''Ferocactus'' is a genus of large barrel-shaped cacti, mostly with large spines and small flowers. There are about 30 species included in the genus. They are found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Description The y ...

'' by American botanists Britton and

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can b ...

. The species name is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''latus'' "broad", and ''spinus'' "spine". ''Ferocactus recurvus'' is a former name for the species.

Distribution

The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to Mexico; the more widely distributed subspecies ''latispinus'' ranges from southeastern

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated i ...

, through

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of a ...

, east to the western parts of San Luis Potosí,

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...

and

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

, as well as to eastern

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal ...

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities. Its capi ...

and

Mexico State The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...

. Subspecies ''spiralis'' is restricted to the southern parts of

Oaxaca ) , population_note = , population_rank = 10th , timezone1 = CST , utc_offset1 = −6 , timezone1_DST = CDT , utc_offset1_DST = −5 , postal_code_type = Postal ...

and Puebla. This species is typically found under nurse plants like tree canopies and shrubs. These nurse plants protect these smaller plant species below them from harsh weather conditions; being able to provide shade for the cacti in arid and sunny environments. Córdova-Acosta, E et al. “Reproductive Biology of Ferocactus Recurvus (Mill.) Borg Subsp. Recurvus (Cactaceae) in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, Mexico.” Plant biology (Stuttgart, Germany) 19.5 (2017): 798–805. Web.

Description

''Ferocactus latispinus'' grows as a single globular light green cactus reaching the dimensions of 30 cm (12 in) in height and 40 cm (16 in) across, with 21 acute ribs. Its spines range from reddish to white in colour and are flattened and reach 4 or 5 cm long. Flowering is in late autumn or early winter. The funnel-shaped flowers are purplish or yellowish and reach 4 cm long, and are followed by oval-shaped scaled fruit which reach 2.5 cm (1 in) long.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognised, differing in their number of radial spines. *''Ferocactus latispinus'' subsp. ''latispinus'' — 9–15 radial spines, Devil's Tongue Barrel or Crow's Claw Cactus. *''Ferocactus latispinus'' subsp. ''spiralis'' — 5–7 radial spines.

Cultivation

''Ferocactus latispinus'' is fairly commonly cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

. It blooms at an early age which is a desirable horticultural feature. It is hardy to −4 °C, with an average minimum temperature of 10 °C. The

slime mold Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to several kinds of unrelated eukaryotic organisms with a life cycle that includes a free-living single-celled stage and the formation of spores. Spores are often produced in macroscopic mul ...

, ''

Didymium wildpretii ''Didymium wildpretii'' is a species of slime mold which feeds on the decaying remains of various species of cacti. It was first described in 2007 and has been found across Mexico and the Canary Islands, but may be present where other cacti gro ...

'' feeds on the decaying remains of ''F. latispinus'' in Mexico.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q147501 latispinus Cacti of Mexico Endemic flora of Mexico Flora of Central Mexico Flora of Guanajuato Flora of Hidalgo (state) Flora of Puebla Flora of Jalisco Flora of Querétaro Flora of Oaxaca Flora of the State of Mexico North American desert flora