Ferocactus hamatacanthus

Ferocactus hamatacanthus
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Ferocactus
Species:	F. hamatacanthus
Binomial name
	Ferocactus hamatacanthus; (Muel.)
Synonyms
	List Brittonia davisii Houghton & C.A.Armstr.; Echinocactus flexispinus Engelm.; Echinocactus gerardii F.A.C.Weber; Echinocactus haematochroanthus Hemsl.; Echinocactus hamatacanthus Muehlenpf.; Echinocactus hamatacanthus var. brevispinus (Engelm.) J.M.Coult.; Echinocactus hamatacanthus var. longihamatus (Galeotti ex Pfeiff.) J.M.Coult.; Echinocactus longihamatus var. brevispinus Engelm.; Echinocactus longihamatus f. brevispinus (Engelm.) Schelle; Echinocactus longihamatus var. crassispinus Engelm.; Echinocactus longihamatus gracilispinus Engelm.; Echinocactus sinuatus A.Dietr.; Echinocactus uncinatus Engelm. ex Scheer; Ferocactus hamatacanthus var. crassispinus (Engelm.) L.D.Benson; Hamatocactus hamatacanthus (Muehlenpf.) F.M.Knuth; Hamatocactus hamatacanthus var. davisii (Houghton & C.A.Armstr.) W.T.Marshall;

Ferocactus hamatacanthus, commonly named Turk's Head, is a barrel cactus in the tribe Cacteae.

Description

Ferocactus hamatacanthus forms to be solitary, usually a globular to oblong shape, and grows up to 60 centimetres (24 in). This plant contains 13 ribs normally, but can sometimes be around 17. These ribs of the cactus are strongly tubercled and are generally 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) high. Its aeroles are large and 1 centimetre (0.39 in) to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) apart. There are about 12 radial spines, 5 centimetres (2.0 in) to 7 centimetres (2.8 in) long, that are acicular and terete. However, there are fewer central spines, only 4, that tend to be angled and elongated at around 15 centimetres (5.9 in). One of the central spines is hooked at its apex as well.

This cactus' flowers are large, usually 7 centimetres (2.8 in) to 8 centimetres (3.1 in), and display a yellow color with an inner scarlet color in some forms. This cactus also produces a fruit that is oblong, 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long, fleshy, edible, and a dark brown to drab-color (not red). In addition to these features, its seeds are pitted.^[2]

Features

Ferocactus hamatacanthus develops elongated glands, usually 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to 4 centimetres (1.6 in), in the aeroles between the flower and the spines. At first, these glands are soft, but as they mature they become hard and spine-like. Another key feature is the difference of its fruit compared to other species. The fruit of this species is thin and the flesh is very juicy and edible, reminiscent of kiwis in flavor.^[2]

Flower
Plant

Subspecies

Accepted subspecies:^[3]

Image	Name	Distribution
	Ferocactus hamatacanthus subsp. hamatacanthus	New Mexico to Texas and Mexico
	Ferocactus hamatacanthus subsp. sinuatus (A.Dietr.) N.P.Taylor	Texas to Mexico

Distribution

Ferocactus hamatacanthus is widespread in the Chihuahuan Desert of north-western Mexico in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, and San Luis Potosi; and in New Mexico, and south-western Texas near El Paso growing in limestone crevices at elevations of 700 to 200 meters. The Ferocactus hamatacanthus Type Locality was found in Mexico.

Plant growing in habitat north of Piedra Blanca with Agave lechuguilla
Habitat in Piedras Blancas, Coahuila

Taxonomy

Philipp August Friedrich Mühlenpfordt first described Ferocactus hamatacanthus as Echinocactus hamatacanthus in 1846. The species name "hamatacanthus" comes from the Latin "hamatus," meaning "hook," and the Greek "akanthos," meaning "spines," referring to the hooked central spines of the plant. In 1922, Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose reclassified the species into the genus Ferocactus.^[4]

References

^ Univ., Martin Terry (Sul Rose State; College, Kenneth Heil (San Juan; Mexico, New; Group), Succulent Plants Specialist; Ambiental), Rafael Corral-Díaz (Consultor (2009-11-16). "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
^ ^a ^b N. L. Britton; J. N. Rose (1922), The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family (in German), vol. Band III, Washington: The Carnegie Institution of Washington, p. 145
^ "Ferocactus hamatacanthus (Muehlenpf.) Britton & Rose". Plants of the World Online. 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
^ Dietrich, Albert; Otto, Friedrich (1846). "Allgemeine Gartenzeitung". Biodiversity Heritage Library. Retrieved 2024-01-17.

External links

Media related to Ferocactus hamatacanthus at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Ferocactus hamatacanthus at Wikispecies

[Univ._College_Mexico_Group)_2009_p.-1] Univ., Martin Terry (Sul Rose State; College, Kenneth Heil (San Juan; Mexico, New; Group), Succulent Plants Specialist; Ambiental), Rafael Corral-Díaz (Consultor (2009-11-16). "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2024-01-17.

[Nathaniel1922-2] N. L. Britton; J. N. Rose (1922), The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family (in German), vol. Band III, Washington: The Carnegie Institution of Washington, p. 145

[Plants_of_the_World_Online_2020_z209-3] "Ferocactus hamatacanthus (Muehlenpf.) Britton & Rose". Plants of the World Online. 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2024-01-17.

[Dietrich_Otto_1846_g058-4] Dietrich, Albert; Otto, Friedrich (1846). "Allgemeine Gartenzeitung". Biodiversity Heritage Library. Retrieved 2024-01-17.

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