Ferocactus latispinus
Summary 7
Ferocactus latispinus is a species of barrel cactus native to Mexico. Originally described as Cactus latispinus in 1824 by English naturalist Adrian Hardy Haworth, it gained its current name in 1922 with the erection of the genus Ferocactus by American botanists Britton and Rose. The species name is derived from the Latin latus "broad", and spinus "spine". Ferocactus recurvus is a former name for the species.
Description 8
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.
Two subspecies are recognised, differing in their number of radial spines.
Cultivation 8
Ferocactus latispinus is fairly commonly cultivated as an ornamental plant. 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, Didymium wildpretii feeds on the decaying remains of F. latispinus in Mexico.
Distribution 8
The species is endemic to Mexico; the more widely distributed subspecies latispinus ranges from southeastern Durango, through Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, east to the western parts of San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo and Puebla, as well as to eastern Jalisco, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Mexico State. Subspecies spiralis is restricted to the southern parts of Oaxaca 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.
Subspecies 8
Two subspecies are recognised, differing in their number of radial spines.
Sources and Credits
- (c) luiszuniga_ecopil, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by luiszuniga_ecopil
- (c) Rogelio Arreola Alemón, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Rogelio Arreola Alemón
- (c) Jose Antonio Aranda Pineda, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Jose Antonio Aranda Pineda
- (c) Jose Antonio Aranda Pineda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Jose Antonio Aranda Pineda
- (c) Daniela Fernández y Fernández, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Daniela Fernández y Fernández
- (c) Pedro Nájera Quezada, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Pedro Nájera Quezada
- Adapted by Jeny Davis from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferocactus_latispinus
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferocactus_latispinus
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- World Flora Online
