Say it: FAIR-oh-cactus. Common names: barrel cactus, fishhook barrel, biznaga.
Where it grows
The deserts of the southwestern US and Mexico. F. wislizeni (fishhook barrel) grows across Arizona, New Mexico and Sonora; F. latispinus (devil's tongue) in central Mexico; F. rectispinus in Baja California; F. glaucescens (blue barrel) in Hidalgo, Mexico.
Size and growth
Heavy, ribbed barrels armored with thick spines. Wislizeni can reach 6 feet tall over many decades and often leans toward the sun. Latispinus stays under a foot, with a wide, flattened, hooked red central spine. Rectispinus is famous for straight spines up to 10 inches long. Glaucescens forms blue-grey clumps with golden spines, or no spines at all in the inermis form. Growth is moderate: fist-sized in 3–4 years from seed.
Flowers and fruit
A ring of flowers on the crown: orange-red in wislizeni in late summer, purple-pink in latispinus in fall and winter, yellow in glaucescens and rectispinus. Followed by yellow, pineapple-like fruit that birds and desert animals eat.
Care
- Light: full sun.
- Water: deep soaks in summer, dry in winter.
- Soil: gritty, fast-draining.
- Cold: wislizeni handles around 15°F dry; the Mexican species are safer above 25°F.
From seed
Easy. Germination in 7–21 days, and seedlings quickly grow their first hooked spines. A great genus for landscape plants in the desert Southwest.
F. wislizeni seeds · F. latispinus seeds · F. rectispinus seeds · F. glaucescens inermis seeds