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Home/Species/ Southwestern Barrel Cactus

Ferocactus wislizeni

(Engelm.) Britt. & Rose

Southwestern Barrel Cactus

G4Apparently Secure Found in 31 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
VulnerableIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.134095
Element CodePDCAC08070
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNVulnerable
CITESAppendix II
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderCaryophyllales
FamilyCactaceae
GenusFerocactus
Other Common Names
candy barrelcactus (EN) Candy Barrel Cactus (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Review Date1988-06-30
Change Date1988-06-30
Edition Date1988-01-29
Edition AuthorsLAMBERT, A.
Range Extent5000-200,000 square km (about 2000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 80
Rank Reasons
Sixty-eight EO's throughout the southwest United States.
Range Extent Comments
Southeastern Arizona mostly from vicinity of Phoenix to Pima Co. and east; south New Mexico from Hidalgo Co. to southwest Lincoln Co.; Texas in El Paso Co. Mexico south to Sinaloa and northwest Chihuahua (Weniger, 1970).
Occurrences Comments
Sixty-eight EO's (Benson 1982).
Threat Impact Comments
Most cacti subject to horticultural collecting.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Rocky, gravelly, or sandy soils of hills, flats, canyons, wash margins, and alluvial fans in desert or grasslands.

Ecology

Ant interactions with Ferocactus wislizeni are varied and an important component of this species biology. Ants act as 'body guards' to the plant's natural predators, especially in regard to buds reaching maturity in flowering and fruit-ripening (Ness et al. 2004). Four ant species were observed on F. wislizeni in one study: Crematogaster opunitae, Solenopsis aurea, S. xyloni and Forelius sp. (Ness et al. 2004). These ants were found on plants at different times and quantities throughout the study, C. opuntiae while not the most aggressive protector, was present more frequently than the other ant species and provided the most overall protection. The plant's role in this example of mutulalism is production of extra-floral nectary glands that provide a high carbohydrate food source (Ness et al. 2004).

Reproduction

Ferocactus wislizeni is self-incompatible and requires pollination for fruits to develop. Unlike many other cactus species, this species does not reproduce vegetatively (McIntosh 2005). Ferocactus wislizeni is unique in that it is a perennial desert plant with a between-year seed bank. Between-year seed banks are most readily observed in ephemeral desert plants. The between-year seed bank allows F. wislizeni to take advantage of favorable environmental conditions when in alternate years when reproductive output is poor (Bowers 2000). It is also known that all Ferocactus species produce fleshy-fruits which are consumed and dispersed by animals (Valiente-Banuet and Godinez-Alvarez 2002).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesNNR
ProvinceRankNative
New MexicoSNRYes
TexasS1Yes
ArizonaS3Yes
Plant Characteristics
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (31)
Arizona (27)
AreaForestAcres
Black CrossTonto National Forest5,966
BoulderTonto National Forest40,359
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Catalina St. Pk. Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest951
Cdo WsaCoronado National Forest1,955
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
GaliuroCoronado National Forest28,333
GoldfieldTonto National Forest15,257
Happy ValleyCoronado National Forest7,972
Horse MesaTonto National Forest9,146
Lime CreekTonto National Forest42,568
Lower Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest1,165
Lower RinconCoronado National Forest3,278
MazatzalTonto National Forest16,942
Middle Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest10,543
Middle Romero WSRCoronado National Forest60
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
Pine Mountain Wilderness ContiguousTonto National Forest6,518
Santa RitaCoronado National Forest6,078
Santa TeresaCoronado National Forest8,929
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
Upper Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest2,533
Upper Rincon RoadlessCoronado National Forest2,991
Upper Romero WsrCoronado National Forest150
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
WinchesterCoronado National Forest13,459
Idaho (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekCaribou-Targhee National Forest118,582
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
West Face Sacramento MountainsLincoln National Forest41,176
South Dakota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Indian CreekBuffalo Gap National Grassland24,666
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Big CreekNational Forests in Texas1,447
References (10)
  1. Bowers, J.E. 2000. Does <i>Ferocactus wislizeni </i>(Cactaceae) have a between-year seed bank? Journal of Arid Environments 45(3):197-205.
  2. Grant, V. and K.A. Grant. 1979c. Pollination of <i>Echinocereus fasciculatus</i> and <i>Ferocactus wislizenii</i>. Plant Svstematics and Evolution 132: 85-90.
  3. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  4. Matthews, R. F. 1994. <i>Ferocactus wislizenii</i>. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [2011, April 25].
  5. McIntosh, M. 2005. Pollination of two species of <i>Ferocactus</i>: interactions between cactus-specialist bees and their host plants. Functional Ecology 19: 727-734.
  6. Ness, J. H., W. F. Morris, and J. L. Bronstein. 2004. Integrating quality and quantity of mutualistic service to contrast ant species protecting <i>Ferocatus wislizeni</i>. Ecology 87(4): 912-921.
  7. Thomas, P. A. and P. Goodson. 1992. Conservation of succulents in desert grasslands managed by fire. Biological Conservation 60(2):91-100.
  8. USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, PLANTS Database [USDA PLANTS]. http://plants.usda.gov/. Accessed 2015.
  9. Valiente-Banuet, A., and H. Godinez-Alvarez. 2002. Population and Community Ecology. Pages 91-108. in: P. Nobel, editor. Cacti: Biology and Uses. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.
  10. Weniger, D. 1970. Cacti of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. University of Texas Press: Austin, Texas. 249 pp. + 64 pls.