Ferocactus echidne

Ferocactus echidne is a barrel cactus in the genus Ferocactus. It is found in nature in Mexico. This cactus is known commonly as Sonora barrel, Coville's barrel cactus, Emory's barrel cactus, and traveler's friend. This plant is often sold as a houseplant.

Ferocactus echidne
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Ferocactus
Species:	F. echidne
Binomial name
Ferocactus echidne (DC.) Britton & Rose
Synonyms
Echinocactus echidne DC. 1834 Echinofossulocactus echidne (DC.) Lawr. 1841 Parrycactus echidne (DC.) Doweld 2000 Echinocactus dolichacanthus Lem. 1838 Echinocactus dolichacanthus var. minor Lem. 1839 Echinocactus echidne f. gilvus (A.Dietr.) K.Schum. 1898 Echinocactus echidne var. gilvus (A.Dietr.) Salm-Dyck 1850 Echinocactus gilvus A.Dietr. 1845 Echinocactus rafaelensis J.A.Purpus 1912 Echinocactus vanderaeyi Lem. 1838 Echinocactus victoriensis Rose 1909 Echinofossulocactus vanderaeyi (Lem.) Lawr. 1841 Echinofossulocactus vanderaeyi var. ignotus-longispinus Lawr. 1841 Ferocactus echidne var. rhodanthus G.Unger 2003 Ferocactus echidne subsp. victoriensis (Rose) Lodé 2020 publ. 2022 Ferocactus echidne var. victoriensis (Rose) G.E.Linds. 1955 Ferocactus rafaelensis (J.A.Purpus) Borg 1937 Ferocactus victoriensis (Rose) Backeb. 1961

Description

Ferocactus echidne is a small to medium-sized cactus that grows alone or in clusters. Its flattened to cylindrical shoots are typically cloudy to gray-green, reaching heights of 12 to 35 cm (4.7 to 13.8 in) and diameters of 12 to 20 cm (4.7 to 7.9 in). The plant has 13 to 21 sharp, ribbed ridges without tubercles. Its thin, amber-colored spines are needle-like and smooth, with a single central spine up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long, and seven to nine shorter, radiating marginal spines.^[2][3]

At the top of its shoots, the cactus produces funnel-shaped flowers, yellow or red, 2 to 4.5 cm (0.79 to 1.77 in) long and 3 to 3.5 cm (1.2 to 1.4 in) in diameter. Its fruits are spherical to egg-shaped, light green or white with pinkish or red hues, fleshy, and growing up to 2 cm (0.79 in) long.

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  Orange flower plant
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  Plant with red flowers
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  Flowers closeup
• 
  Fruits

Distribution

Ferocactus echidna grows in limestone soil in the bushlands and tropical forests at elevations of 300 to 1860 meters in Mexico's Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Queretaro, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Guanajuato states.

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  Plant growing in La Reforma Near, González Municipality, Tamaulipas
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  Habitat in San Luis Potosí, Mexico
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  Plant growing in Xichu, Guanajuato

Taxonomy

Ferocactus echidne, described by Augustin-Pyrame de Candolle in 1834 as Echinocactus echidne, gets its species name "echidne" from Latin, meaning "snake," though its precise significance remains uncertain. In 1922, Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose reclassified this species under the genus Ferocactus.^[4] Alternatively it has been assigned the binomials Echinocactus emoryi, Ferocactus rectispinus, and Ferocactus covillei.

References

1. Group), Succulent Plants Specialist (2009-11-16). "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
2. "Ferocactus echidne". LLIFLE. 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
3. Anderson, Edward F.; Eggli, Urs (2005). Das grosse Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. p. 291. ISBN 3-8001-4573-1.
4. Britton, Nathaniel Lord; Eaton, Mary E.; Rose, J. N.; Wood, Helen Adelaide (1919). The Cactaceae : descriptions and illustrations of plants of the cactus family. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.46288.

External links

• Media related to Ferocactus echidne at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Ferocactus echidne at Wikispecies