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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 [[Cylinderspecies]] of [[flowering plant]] in the cactus [[family (geometrybotany)|cylindricalfamily]] Cactaceae, native to [[barrelMexico]] near the US border. 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''." CorrectThe 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>
==Characteristics==
The fishhook barrel cactus typically grows to a diameter of roughly two{{convert|2.25 feet|ft|m|abbr=on}} and three inches. Aa height of three{{convert| to six feet3-6|ft|m|abbr=on}}. However, specimens as wide as three{{convert|3 feet|ft|m|abbr=on}} and tall as ten{{convert|10 feet|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].</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.
In adulthood, fishhook barrel cacti generally lean southward, toward the sun, earning them the nickname "compass barrel cactus." One theory about why this happens is, the afternoon sun is so intense it slows the growth on the exposed side, causing the plant to grow unevenly. Older barrels can lean so far they uproot themselves and fall over, especially after heavy rains when the soil is loose.<ref name="Dimmitt">Mark A. Dimmitt. [http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_cactus_.php Cactaceae (cactus family)]. Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.</ref> Its life cycle is 50–100 years.
Like [[Sclerocactus]], ''Ferocactus'' typically grows in areas where water flows irregularly or depressions where water can accumulate for short periods of time. They are not associated with washes and [[Arroyo (creek)|arroyos]] but rather grow along rocky ridges and open [[bajada (geography)|bajada]]s.
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