Family: Cactaceae, Cactus view all from this family

Description 1 large columnar or barrel-shaped stem; flowers yellow or reddish near base of petals.
Flowers: 1 1/2-2 1/2" (3.8-6.3 cm) wide, in a crown near top of stem.
Stems: 1-1 1/2' (30-45 cm) in diameter; 18-27 stout ribs.
Spines: stout, reddish, or yellowish in dense clusters along ribs, almost hiding stem's surface, 4 in center of cluster in the form of a cross, curved, surrounded by 12-20 similarly stout ones.
Fruit: fleshy, yellow, scaly.
Height: 3-10' (90-300 cm).

Warning This cactus has very sharp spines.

Flower April-May.

Habitat Along washes, on gravelly slopes, and on canyon walls in deserts.

Range Southern California to south-central Arizona.

Discussion The genus name comes from the Latin ferox ("fierce"), commonly applied to very spiny plants. Candy Barrel Cactus or Fishhook Barrel Cactus (F. wislizenii), which grows from southern Arizona to western Texas and northern Mexico, is used for making cactus candy. It has in each cluster a large spine oriented upward, then sharply curved downward at the tip, and other central spines much stouter than the slender surrounding spines.