Ferocactus alamosanus

Ferocactus alamosanus is a species of Ferocactus from Mexico.

Description

Ferocactus alamosanus is a solitary plant that grows in a spherical to short columnar shape, reaching up to in diameter and 1 meter in height. It has 12 to 20 narrow ribs with sharp or blunt edges. The yellow needle-like spines include a single central spine up to long and eight radial spines measuring in length.
The flowers of Ferocactus alamosanus are funnel-shaped and greenish yellow, with a length of up to and a diameter of. Its egg-shaped fruits are yellow, up to long, and open with a basal pore.

Subspecies

Accepted subspecies:

Ferocactus alamosanus subsp. alamosanus
Ferocactus alamosanus subsp. reppenhagenii N.P.Taylor

Distribution

This species is found in the Mexican states of Sonora, Michoacán, Oaxaca, and Colima in deciduous and oak forest at elevations of 450–1300 meters.

Taxonomy

First described as Echinocactus alamosanus in 1913 by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose. The specific epithet, alamosanus, refers to the plant's occurrence at Álamos in the Mexican state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. Ferocactus alamosanus was later placed in the newly created genus Ferocactus by the same authors in 1922.