Information About Barrel Cactus

This cactus commonly grows 2-4 feet but may grow taller can grow to be 6-10 feet tall. It can reach a diameter of 18 to 30 inches or more. The Fishhook Barrel Cactus is often called the "Compass Barrel " because some of the larger plants lean toward the southwest.

What are barrel cactus used for?
What do barrel cactus eat?
Where are barrel cactus?
How long can a barrel cactus live?
Is a barrel cactus poisonous?
How does a barrel cactus protect itself?
Is barrel cactus safe to eat?
What does a fishhook barrel cactus look like?
Does the golden barrel cactus bloom?
How can you tell how old a barrel cactus is?
Does a barrel cactus flower?

What are barrel cactus used for?

The spines were used as needles, as awls and in tattooing. The pulp of barrel cactus has been widely used for making cactus candy (thus one of its common names, candy barrel cactus), but this has also accounted for its destruction and, therefore, protected status in many areas.

What do barrel cactus eat?

Edible parts: Fruit, seeds, flower buds, inner flesh. Season of Harvest: Buds are harvested in the early to mid summer. Fruits are harvested from late November to March.

Where are barrel cactus?

Barrel cactus, name for a group of more or less barrel-shaped cacti (family Cactaceae) native to North and South America. It is most often used for two large-stemmed North American genera, Ferocactus and Echinocactus.

How long can a barrel cactus live?

The barrel cactus can live to be over 100 years old.

Is a barrel cactus poisonous?

Barrel cacti are one of the more dangerous plants in the desert. Their spines can easily puncture human skin. Its has been said that a wound that draws blood could take several months to heal with antibiotics needed for some. It has also been said that liquid in the cactus can be deadly if ingested or even sniffed.

How does a barrel cactus protect itself?

The whole of the barrel cactus is designed to retain water. Spines serve not only as a defense mechanism against hungry desert animals, they also provide some shading to the plant. The stem is covered in a thick, waxy coating that seals the plant, protecting it from excessive evaporation.

Is barrel cactus safe to eat?

The barrel cactus fruit can be picked and eaten raw.

It has no spines/glochids, which makes it one of the easiest cactus fruits to handle. The flower buds of the barrel cactus are also edible but may taste a little bit sour.

What does a fishhook barrel cactus look like?

The fishhook barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizenii) can be identified by its thick (2 foot diameter), barrel shaped body and long hooked spines. The yellow/red flowers and yellow fruit always grow at the top of the plant. Fishhook barrel cactus grow along desert washes and gravelly bajadas.

Does the golden barrel cactus bloom?

Flowering: The golden barrel cacti will produce yellow flowers during mid-summer, although these are unlikely to appear indoors. These are grown mainly for the foliage rather than flowers; for the desert look that's appealing to cactus growers and collectors.

How can you tell how old a barrel cactus is?

Ferocactus, also known as “barrel cactus”, can be as old as 200 years, certainly Ferocactus wislizenii. They do njot have tree rings in them, of course, but you can guess the approximate age by counting the number of thorn groups or areoles of the plant.

Does a barrel cactus flower?

From my observations, barrel cactus are all exceptionally great southwest native plants for gardens. They bloom wonderfully in spring and fall; some are exceptional with red spines that back light in front of a setting sun. They produce large fruit filled with seed that feeds a range of wildlife.