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|synonyms = ''Echinocactus wislizeni'' <small>Engelm.</small>
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[[File:Ferocactus wislizeni (Giant Fishook Barrel Cactus) Arizona 2013.jpg|thumb|Large fishhook barrel cactus near [[Sahuarita, Arizona]] ]]▼
'''''Ferocactus wislizeni''''', the '''fishhook barrel cactus''', also called '''Arizona barrel cactus''', '''candy barrel cactus''', and '''Southwestern barrel cactus''', is a [[species]] of [[flowering plant]] in the cactus [[family (botany)|family]] Cactaceae, native to northern [[Mexico]] and the southern [[United States]]. It is a ball-shaped cactus eventually growing to a cylindrical shape, with spiny ribs and red or yellow flowers in summer.
Some sources mistakenly spell the epithet "''wislizenii''." The correct spelling is with one "i," per ICN article 60C.2.<ref>J. McMeill et al. (eds). 2012. International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Regnum Vegetabile 154. Koeltz Scientific Books. {{ISBN|978-3-87429-425-6}}</ref>
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The fishhook barrel cactus typically grows to a diameter of roughly {{convert|2.25 |ft|m|abbr=on}} and a height of {{convert| 3-6|ft|m|abbr=on}}. However, specimens as wide as {{convert|3 |ft|m|abbr=on}} and tall as {{convert|10 |ft|m|abbr=on}} have been recorded.<ref>Barrelcactus Cactacae ''Ferocactus wislizeni''. [http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/Syllabus2/fwislizeni.htm USDA Fact Sheet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902040412/http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/Syllabus2/fwislizeni.htm |date=2006-09-02 }}.</ref> The common name comes from the [[Spine (botany)|spines]], which are thick and hooked. It has a leathery [[Asparagus (color)|asparagus green]] [[Cortex (botany)|cortex]] (skin) with approximately 15-28 ribs per cactus. Its [[flower]]s are yellow to red-orange and appear atop the cactus [[fruit]] during the summer months. The fruits are green when unripe, yellow after the flower dries up, and persist atop the cactus long after the flower is gone, sometimes for more than a year.
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The "fishhook" spines and the armored web of spines enclosing the cactus body are a defense against herbivory. Rarely a mature barrel cactus is found hollowed out by [[Peccary|javelina]] but overall [[Opuntia|prickly pear]] experience much higher levels of damage from more species. Barrel cactus spines pose an extreme hazard for handling, penetrating boots and gloves. The roots are quite long but very shallow.
<gallery>
File:Fishook Barrel Ferocactus wislizeni.jpg|Young Fishhook barrel cactus (''Ferocactus wislizeni'')▼
File:Ferocactus wislizeni Cluster Sahuarita Arizona 2013.jpg|Fishhook barrel cactus cluster near [[Sahuarita, Arizona]].
File:Ferocactus wislizeni (Fishhook Barrel Cactus) fruit.jpg|Fruit atop a fishhook barrel cactus.▼
File:Ferocactus wislizeni 2008-05-01 01.jpg|Top view of young Fishhook Barrel▼
File:Ferocactus wislizeni338980330.jpg|Flowers▼
</gallery>
==Distribution==
The fishhook barrel cactus is native to [[southwestern United States]] and northwestern Mexico. More specifically, it can be found in southern [[Arizona]], southern [[New Mexico]], [[El Paso County, Texas]] and northern [[Sonora]], [[Sinaloa]], and [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], Mexico.<ref name="USFS">US Forest Service. Index of Species Information. [http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/cactus/ferwis/all.html SPECIES: ''Ferocactus wislizenii''].</ref> It grows in gravelly or sandy [[soil]], more commonly on [[Alluvial fan|bajadas]] than steep [[slope]]s, at 1000 to 5300 feet (300–1600 m) elevation. It prefers full sun, and does well in hot arid climates. It is, however, [[frost]]-tolerant to 5 °F (-15 °C)<ref>Philippe Faucon. [http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Cactaceae/Ferocactus_wislizenii.html Fishhook Barrel Cactus]. Desert Tropicals.</ref>
===Ecology===
The flowers are pollinated by cactus bees (''Lithurge'' spp.). [[Mule deer]], birds, [[Antelope squirrel|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>
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In urban areas, the Fishhook Barrel is valued as an ornamental plant. It is drought tolerant and good for [[xeriscaping]], and it is also a low-maintenance full-sun plant.
File:Arizona barrel cactus - Florence, AZ.jpg|''Ferocactus wislizeni'' habitat near [[Florence, Arizona]].
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▲<gallery widths="190px" heights="180px">
File:Fishhook barrel cactus, Saguaro National Park (Rincon Mountain District), Arizona (2a930956-d8d1-4a39-b6c7-9b5e5121f721).jpg|Fishhook barrel cactus in [[Saguaro National Park]]
▲File:Fishook Barrel Ferocactus wislizeni.jpg|Young Fishhook barrel cactus (''Ferocactus wislizeni'')
File:Ferocactus wislizeni
▲File:Ferocactus wislizeni (Fishhook Barrel Cactus) fruit.jpg|Fruit atop a fishhook barrel cactus.
▲File:Ferocactus wislizeni 2008-05-01 01.jpg|Top view of young Fishhook Barrel
▲File:Ferocactus wislizeni338980330.jpg|Flowers
</gallery>
==Taxonomy==
This species was first described as ''Echinocactus wislizeni'' in 1848 by [[George Engelmann]]. [[Nathaniel Lord Britton]] and [[Joseph Nelson Rose]] placed the species in the genus 'Ferocactus'' in 1922.<ref name="Dietrich Otto 1846 g058">{{cite web | last=Dietrich | first=Albert | last2=Otto | first2=Friedrich | title=Allgemeine Gartenzeitung | website=Biodiversity Heritage Library | volume=v.14 (1846) | date=1846 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15010410 | access-date=2024-01-17}}</ref>
==References==
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