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==Ecology==
The flowers are pollinated by cactus bees (''Lithurge'' spp.). [[Mule deer]], birds, [[Antelope Ground Squirrels]] and [[Peccary|javelina]] eat the fruit. The birds especially like the [[seed]]s. The people of the [[Sonoran Desert]] use the fruit for [[candy]] and [[Fruit preserves|jelly]].<ref name="USFS" /> The [[Seri people|Seri]] and [[Tohono O'odham|O'odham]] eat the flowers and use the fruit, which is sour, as emergency food.<ref name="Dimmitt" /> Tradition says that the barrel cactus is a source of water for people lost without water in the desert. There are records of the southwestern Native Americans using it for that purpose,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://naeb.brit.org/uses/species/1610/|title=BRIT - Native American Ethnobotany Database|website=naeb.brit.org|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref> but the water contains [[oxalic acid]] and is likely to cause [[diarrhea]] if ingested on an empty stomach.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_cactus_.php|title=Cactaceae (cactus family)|website=www.desertmuseum.org|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref>
The [[skin]] thickens with age, making older cacti more fire resistant. Even so, average mortality due to fire is 50 to 67 percent within the first two years following fire.<ref name="USFS" />
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