Ferocactus cylindraceus
Encyclopedia
Ferocactus cylindraceus is a species of barrel cactus
Ferocactus
Ferocactus is a genus of large barrel-shaped cacti, mostly with large spines and small flowers. There are about 30 species included in the genus. They are found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The young specimens are columnar but as they grow older ribs form and they take...

 which is known by several common names, including California barrel cactus and miner's compass. It was first described by George Engelmann
George Engelmann
George Engelmann, also known as Georg Engelmann, was a German-American botanist. He was instrumental in describing the flora of the west of North America, then very poorly-known; he was particularly active in the Rocky Mountains and northern Mexico.-Origins:George Engelmann was born in Frankfurt...

 in 1853. This cactus is usually cylindrical or spherical, with some older specimens forming columns two meters in height. It is covered in long, plentiful spines, which are straight and red when new and become curved and gray as they age. It bears bright yellow flowers with red or yellow centers on the side that faces the sun. The fleshy, hollow fruits are yellow. This cactus is native to the Mojave
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

 and Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...

s. A picturesque organism, this already uncommon plant is threatened by collectors. It comes from California.

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