#cactaceae

Ferocactus peninsulae

Baja California is home to a greater concentration of Ferocactus species than anywhere else, and this one is a fine example from the central part of the peninsula. Like numerous other barrel cacti, it has a group of stout spines at the middle of each spine cluster, and then wispy spines around the outside, making a decorative (if formidable) effect. The showy flowers emerge near the top of the stem.

Ferocactus emoryi subsp. rectispinus

This is the spectacular Baja subspecies in the F. emoryi group, notable for its very long spines as well as its large and showy yellow flowers (sometimes these are more orange-yellow). It is certainly having a good year here at the Ruth Bancroft Garden!

Ferocactus emoryi subsp. covillei

Ferocactus emoryi is a barrel cactus from northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona. It has 3 recognized subspecies; this one is subsp. covillei, with red flowers, found in Arizona and in northern Sonora. The subsp. emoryi comes from farther south and has yellow flowers. The third one is subsp. rectispinus, from across the Gulf of Cslifornia in Baja California, with extra-long spines and yellow flowers.

Cleistocactus sepium

This short-columnar cactus makes a cluster of stems, and it produces flushes of spectacular flowers at intervals during the warm part of the year. As can be seen, the flowers have a hairy tubular lower part, with a flared red or pinkish-red mouth. It is native to Ecuador. While many classifiers have included this species in Cleistocactus, others have favored keeping that genus for the more southerly-occurring species that do not have flared mouths, while recognizing a separate genus Borzicactus for the northern ones such as the species shown here.

Soehrensia thelegona

This Argentine cactus was originally placed in the genus Trichocereus, then lumped into Echinopsis, but now it has been moved into the genus Soehrensia based on DNA evidence. It is a plant that develops long trailing stems, producing astoundingly large flowers that resemble those of the dragon fruit or other large-flowered species. The stems of our plant wander along the ground for a long distance (over 2 meters!).

Mammillaria carnea

Mammillaria is a very large genus of cacti, but most of the species are on the small side. This one is M. carnea, from the states of Puebla and Oaxaca in southern Mexico. It's only a few inches high, but it's looking great!

Acanthocalycium spiniflorum

Acanthocalyciums are South American cacti related to Lobivia, and both of these genera were for a time folded into Echinopsis, along with other related cacti. This resulted in a huge unwieldy genus, and now the original genera have been restored, though not quite in the same way as they were originally classified. The name "spiniflorum" refers to the barbs found on the tube of the flower, a characteristic of the Acanthocalycium group. Our plants are flowering wonderfully this month.

Ferocactus schwarzii

There are many species of Ferocactus found in the southwestern US and throughout Mexico, and this one is native to Sinaloa in western Mexico. Its ruffly yellow flowers are very attractive when it comes into bloom in the spring. It can grow to be about 20 inches in diameter (50 cm), but it flowers while still relatively small.