Ferocactus fordii is a species of succulent plant in the family Cactaceae, commonly known as Ford's barrel cactus, endemic to the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico. It is spherical, growing to 50 cm (20 in) in diameter, with whitish-grey radial spines and solitary flowers of a deep rose pink, 4 cm (2 in) in diameter.[3]
Description
Ferocactus fordii var. fordii is a relatively small in stature barrel cactus that is usually less than 40 cm (16 in) tall. It is characterized by simple, depressed globose to short-cylindric stems with 21 ribs. Each areole has around 21 spines, with 4 stout, flattened, and gray-colored central spines arranged in the pattern of a cross. The flowers are orchid to rose purple and appear from March to April, and mature into oval fruits that are pink to yellow.[4]
Ferocactus fordii from collection of Yuriy Shostak (Mykolaiv, Ukraine)
Ferocactus fordii subsp. borealis N.P.Taylor – A short-spined and shorter in stature infraspecies, commonly known as Ford's northern barrel cactus, ranging from San Quintín to El Rosario. Recognized by Kew's Plants of the World Online, while the San Diego Natural History Museum in their 2016 Baja Checklist by Rebman et al. suggests the subspecies may deserve recognition if more taxonomic study is conducted.[5][6][7]
Ferocactus fordii var. grandiflorusG.E. Linds. – A Baja California Sur endemic infraspecies, commonly known as large-flowered Ford barrel cactus or the Vizcaíno barrel cactus that ranges from Bahía Tortugas south to Punta Abreojos. It has red or orange flowers. This variety is recognized by the San Diego Natural History Museum in their 2016 Baja Checklist by Rebman et al. Also known as Ferocactus chrysacanthus subsp. grandiflorus (G.E. Linds.) N.P. Taylor, which is accepted by Kew's Plants of the World Online, and recognized by Joël Lodé as synonymous with Ferocactus gracilis.[4][5][8][9]
Undescribed
Ferocactus fordii var. brevispinusNomen nudum (catalog name) – An undescribed name used in horticultural catalogs to indicate a cultivated morphological form with shorter spines.[10]
Plants sometimes assigned to Ferocactus chrysacanthus from Isla Natividad, which is located midway between the F. c. ssp. chrysacanthus on Cedros Island and the subspecies grandiflorus of the Vizcaíno Peninsula, are in fact Ferocactus fordii because of their distinctly purple flowers.[11][12]
Distribution
An old plant of Ferocactus fordii borealis at Punta Baja, Baja California.
^Pilbeam, John; Bowdery, Derek (2005). Ferocactus (1. ed.). Oxford: British Cactus and Succulent Soc. ISBN978-0902099760.
^Junak, Steven A.; Philbrick, Ralph (2000). Browne, D.R.; Mitchell, K.L.; Chaney, H.W. (eds.). "Flowering plants of Natividad Island, Baja California, Mexico"(PDF). Proceedings of the Fifth California Islands Symposium. Camarillo, CA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service.
