#barrel cacti

[boschintegral-photo]

Golden Barrel Cactus (Echinocactus Grusonii) Grugapark Essen, Germany

[pcttrailsidereader]

James Parsons captured one of the many personalities of the San Felipe Hills in his photo. It can also be harsh and angry or rich with color. It really is a stunning PCT landscape.

[meklarian]

Barrel / Fishhook Cactus Sweetwater Wetlands Park Tucson, Arizona, USA March, 2019

(more cacti here)

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Barrel Cactus

At the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ

By Ash Mehta

[little-pondhead]

Hello random irrational anger. May I interest you in a niche rabbit hole to fall into at 3am while you’re here?

[dougdimmadodo]

California Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus)

Family: Cactus Family (Cactaceae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

Native to the western Sonoran Desert and eastern Mojave Desert in northern Mexico and the southwestern USA, the California Barrel Cactus grows in dry, sandy soil and typically inhabits scrublands and “forests” of Joshua Trees (the only tree species found throughout most of its range.) Members of this species typically grow in a cylindrical or spherical shape and are covered in a large number of long, thin spines (which, as is typical for a cactus, are highly-modified leaves and serve to protect the cactus from herbivorous animals) which can be used to estimate an individual's age: newly grown spines, which are made of living cells, are deep red in colour, but as the spines develop the cells that make them up die and they become harder and grey in colour, so if an individual has a large number of red spines it is likely young while an individual with entirely grey spines is older. Like almost all plants California Barrel Cacti are photoautotrophs (meaning they are capable of producing nutrients through photosynthesis, a chemical reaction between carbon obtained from the air through tiny respiratory pores on the cactus’ outer surface called stomata and hydrogen obtained from water taken in through the plant’s roots), and like many plants adapted to life in warm, arid conditions they exhibit CAM photosynthesis (a form of photosynthesis in which the stomata only open to take in carbon at night when the air is relatively cool, thereby minimizing water loss through evaporation and allowing the carbon to be put to use in photosynthesis when the sun rises the next day.) The inside of the stem of a California Barrel Cactus is spongy and allows water to be stored as a gel during times of relatively high rainfall to sustain the cactus during times of drought, and as the roots of this species do not go deep into the soil and can re-grow easily California Barrel Cacti can survive being completely uprooted by flash floods, and may even take advantage of floods by allowing them to carry them to areas where the flood water settles, where they will then develop new roots and take in the plentiful water. Like most cacti California Barrel Cacti are hermaphroditic (meaning that every individual can produce both pollen and seeds), and during the early summer they develop “crowns” of yellow flowers which, following pollination by small insects such as bees, develop into small, egg-shaped yellow fruits which are eaten by birds and carried away to allow the seeds within them to develop into mature cacti without competing with their parent.

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I’ll be doing a module on plant biology later this year, so I’m brushing up on plants. This is a particularly cool species!

Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/54453-Ferocactus-cylindraceus

[recurring-polynya]

It is the 15th over here so I guess I'll say it: HAPPPPPPPY BIRTHDAYYY!!!!! 💖💖💖💖 I hope you have the best day ever and that you get to do whatever you want!!!! 🎊🎉❄️🐍🐒 Enjoy💖💖

Thank you so muuuuuuuch!!! 💕💖✨

I have had a really nice day so far! We went to a Farmer's Market in the city in the morning and then went to a Conservatory/Botanical Gardens, which had so many beautiful and weirdo plants, including a whole room of orchids. Some of them smelled like chocolate!

Then I got to come home and watch the new Bleach AND I'm getting pizza for dinner. In other words, I am having a great day, and I hope everyone else is having a great my-birthday too!

[designinspooo]

The cacti garden outside of the Ethel M chocolate factory in Las Vegas. May 2023.

[sabistarphotos]

May 23, 2021

Desert Botanical Garden

Phoenix, AZ

[crudlynaturephotos]

[surveydiary]

8/29/23

[emperornorton47]

Cactus

[faguscarolinensis]

Echinocactus grusonii / Golden Barrel Cactus at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[discotechnician]

My favorite personal Arcade headcanon is that making "stimpacks out of barrel cacti" is not the extent of his research into alternative medicine and natural remedies. Like, I imagine he could be making sunburn ointment out of aloe, for example (I like to think he started making this one for himself, since he gets sunburnt easily, but then it caught on and other people started using it.) Or something like tiger balm for muscle soreness, cough drops for dry and scratchy throats, drinks with electrolytes for rapid rehydration, that sort of thing. I think the reason he would downplay his work and feel like it's a waste of time is because those things only temporarily alleviate discomfort, treat symptoms but not causes, etc. Most patients at the Old Mormon Fort are probably there for serious injuries, not because they have a sore throat and a sunburn. Maybe most people just don't think to try and get the minor stuff treated when there are major injuries to attend to. Maybe he's been making the same things with the same limited supplies and it's just tedious and monotonous work to him. But it does help people at least slightly improve their quality of life. That's a noble goal.

[noelmotel]

"Stimpaks out of barrel cacti & other fantastic improbabilities"

[thelostcanyon]

A young Arizona Barrel Cacti (Ferocactus wislizeni), Rincon Mountains, Arizona.