This is a Ferocactus wislizeni which is a fishhook cactus commonly called the Candy barrel cactus. Ferocacti are called "fishhook" because of the curving shape of the long spines that it produces. If you are to catch something in the spines, like burlap or your finger, it can be difficult to get the cactus to release it! The fishhook cactus does best if it is slightly neglected. It needs very little water and a lot of sun. It secretes a sticky substance which attracts ants so there are many ants among the roots that I saw when planting it. This doesn't create any problems if the plant is growing outside.
In the summer, this plant has produced orange flowers; more and more every year. After the flowers die off, a yellow fruit grows up underneath it. This past summer was its most prolific and these yellow fruits have been attached to the plant all winter. They are edible as is the whole plant. (I tried tasting the fruit and it is really quite sweet and yummy!) Inside the fruits are the cactus' seeds. They are very small and black ... similar to the size and shape of mustard seeds. I harvested 3 of the fruits for their seeds and began attempting to germinate them. We'll see how that goes.
This is a Ferocactus wislizeni which is a fishhook cactus commonly called the Candy barrel cactus. Ferocacti are called "fishhook" because of the curving shape of the long spines that it produces. If you are to catch something in the spines, like burlap or your finger, it can be difficult to get the cactus to release it! The fishhook cactus does best if it is slightly neglected. It needs very little water and a lot of sun. It secretes a sticky substance which attracts ants so there are many ants among the roots that I saw when planting it. This doesn't create any problems if the plant is growing outside.
In the summer, this plant has produced orange flowers; more and more every year. After the flowers die off, a yellow fruit grows up underneath it. This past summer was its most prolific and these yellow fruits have been attached to the plant all winter. They are edible as is the whole plant. (I tried tasting the fruit and it is really quite sweet and yummy!) Inside the fruits are the cactus' seeds. They are very small and black ... similar to the size and shape of mustard seeds. I harvested 3 of the fruits for their seeds and began attempting to germinate them. We'll see how that goes.
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