About Ferocactus chrysacanthus (Orcutt) Britton & Rose
Ferocactus chrysacanthus is a solitary-stemmed barrel cactus with a globose to short cylindrical shape. It grows up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) tall and 30 centimeters in diameter, and has around 21 tuberous ribs. Its spines may be white, yellow, red, or occasionally gray. There are approximately 10 central spines, which are flattened, sometimes hook-curved, and can reach 5 centimeters in length. It also has 4 to 12 or more radiating marginal spines that are typically white and needle-like, and sometimes bristle-like. The bell-shaped flowers are red, yellow, or orange, growing up to 4.5 centimeters long and 4 centimeters in diameter; they bloom from June to July and mature into yellow fruits. The yellow, fleshy fruits reach up to 3 centimeters long, and open through a basal pore. One subspecies, grandiflorus, is sometimes recognized. This subspecies has orange to red flowers that grow up to 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) long, and it is native to the Vizcaíno Peninsula of Baja California Sur. This species is distributed along the Pacific west coast in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, including the offshore islands of Cedros and San Benito.
