The Sonoran barrel cactus, also known as the Emory or Coville's barrel cactus (Ferocactus Emoryi), is found only in a small area of the U.S. in extreme southern Arizona, from Ajo south to the border, and then into Sonora, Mexico.
It has thick reddish central spines under a surface layer of gray and no thin radial spines.
It has red flowers, unlike the yellow flowers of the other two most prevalent barrel cactus species, which grow in July and August, and has yellow fruit.
I found these cacti along the Puerto Blanco Road in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, only a few hundred yards from the Mexico border.
Beautiful. The flowers look like a ruby crown.
ReplyDeleteCactus flowers never cease to amaze me. These flowers look like they were carefully placed by a flower arranger.
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