Ferocactus pottsii

Ferocactus pottsii is a species of Ferocactus from Mexico. The specific epithet has also been spelt pottsi.

Description

Ferocactus pottsii is a solitary cactus with spherical to short cylindrical, glaucous green shoots. It grows up to 1 meter tall and in diameter, with 13 to 25 broad, blunt ribs. The areoles are elongated and woolly, about long, with straight gray spines. The central spine can reach up to long, while the three to eight radial spines reach up to in length.
Its cup-shaped, yellow flowers can grow up to long and in diameter. The spherical fruits are yellow and can reach up to in length.

Distribution

This cactus is found in tropical deciduous and pine forests in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa, at elevations of 240 to 1000 meters.

Taxonomy

First described as Echinocactus pottsii in 1850 by Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck, it was later placed in the genus Ferocactus by Curt Backeberg in 1961. The specific epithet "pottsii" honors John Potts, a director of the mint in Chihuahua.