''Ferocactus pilosus'', also known as Mexican lime cactus (''Biznaga De Lima'') or Mexican fire barrel, is a species of

cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

in North America.

Description

''Ferocactus pilosus'' grows singly or forms large clumps, reaching heights up to 3 meters with diameters of . It has 13 to 20 non-humped ribs, initially sharp-edged in young plants and later becoming rounded. The

areole In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cactus, cacti out of which grow clusters of Thorns, spines, and prickles, spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cactus, cacti, and identify them as a family distinct fr ...

s are close together, giving the appearance of almost merging into one another. The bright red or yellow, spreading spines are pubescent and slightly curved, making it difficult to distinguish between central and radial spines. The mostly red, six to 12 central spines are strong, reaching up to in length, while the radial spines are typically reduced to numerous, whitish bristles. The yellow to red flowers appear in circles around the shoot tip, measuring up to in length and in diameter. The yellow fruits are egg-shaped, about long. File:Ferocactus pilosus (detail of growing point).jpg, ''Ferocactus pilosus'' (detail of growing point) File:Berlin-Dahlem, botanischer Garten, Ferocactus piliferus.JPG, Flower buds File:Ferocactuspilosus.jpg, Spines File:Ferocactus-pilosus.jpg, Plant growing in Oasis Park Fuerteventura

Distribution

The cactus is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the Chihuahuan Desert, located in northeastern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

., p. 334 It is native to the Méxican states of

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

Nuevo Leon Nuevo is the Spanish word for "new". It may refer to: * Nuevology, California, a town in California, United States * Nuevo (band), featuring singer and musician Peter Godwin * Nuevo (Bayamón), a settlement in Puerto Rico * "Nuevo", Spanish-langu ...

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

, and

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

, found growing on rocky limestone slopes.CactiGuide: ''Ferocactus pilosus''
/ref> File:Ferocactus pilosus (5710464445).jpg, Habitat near Ranch San Rafael, Nuevo Leon File:Ferocactus pilosus (5703342531).jpg, Plant growing in Luis Potosi File:Ferocactus pilosus (5700363252).jpg, Plants in habitat in Concepcion del Oro, Zacatecas

Taxonomy

First described as ''Echinocactus pilosus'' in 1850 by

Henri Guillaume Galeotti Henri Guillaume Galeotti (10 September 1814 – 1858) was a French-Belgian botanist and geologist of Italian parentage born in Paris. He specialized in the study of the family Cactaceae. He studied geology and natural history at the ''Etablissemen ...

Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck Joseph Franz Maria Anton Hubert Ignatz Fürst und Altgraf zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck (4 September 1773 at Castle Dyck near Neuss – 21 March 1861 in Nice) was a German aristocrat, amateur botanist and owner of Castle Dyck. Early life ...

's Cacteae in horto Dyckensi cultae anno 1849, the specific epithet pilosus, meaning 'hairy' in Latin, refers to the species' thorns.

Erich Werdermann Erich Werdermann (2 March 1892 – 20 April 1959) was a German botanist. Born in Berlin, Erich Werdermann was the son of the landowner Carl Werdermann. He first studied in Jena, but then switched to Friedrich Wilhelm University (now called Hu ...

transferred the species to the genus ''Ferocactus'' in 1933.

References

External links

* * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q138529

pilosus ''Anthodiscus pilosus'' (chamisa, tahuari, botón caspi, botón huayo or tahuarí amarillo) is a plant species in the genus ''Anthodiscus'' found in Amazonian Colombia and Peru. ''Anthodiscus pilosus'' is added to some versions of the hallucinog ...

Cacti of Mexico Endemic flora of Mexico Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert Flora of Coahuila Flora of Durango Flora of Nuevo León Flora of San Luis Potosí Flora of Tamaulipas Flora of the Mexican Plateau