Echinocactus is a genus of cacti in the subfamily Cactoideae. The generic name derives from the Ancient Greek ἐχῖνος (echînos), meaning "spiny," and cactus. It and Ferocactus are the two genera of barrel cactus. Members of the genus usually have heavy spination and relatively small flowers. The fruits are copiously woolly, and this is one major distinction between Echinocactus and Ferocactus. Propagation is by seed.
Echinocereus is a genus of ribbed, usually small to medium-sized, cylindrical shaped cacti, comprising about 70 species native to the southern United States and Mexico in very sunny, rocky places. Usually the flowers are large and the fruit edible.
In 1984, the International Organization for Succulent Plant Study set up a working party, now called the International Cactaceae Systematics Group, to produce a consensus classification of the cactus family, down to the level of genus. Their classification has been used as the basis for systems published since the mid-1990s. Treatments in the 21st century have generally divided the family into around 125–130 genera and 1,400–1,500 species, which are then arranged in a number of tribes and subfamilies. However, subsequent molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that a very high proportion of the higher taxa are not monophyletic, i.e. they do not contain all of the descendants of a common ancestor. As of August 2023, the internal classification of the family Cactaceae remained uncertain and subject to change. A classification incorporating many of the insights from the molecular studies was produced by Nyffeler and Eggli in 2010.
Sclerocactus is a genus of cacti. It comprises about 15 species, the exact number depending on the authority. These species are very xerophytic. They are sometimes called 'fishhook cactus' or 'little barrels.'
Thelocactus is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Members of the genus are native to the arid lands of Central and Northern Mexico.
Fishhook cactus is a common name for any hook-spined species of the genera Mammillaria, Echinomastus or Sclerocactus. They are small cacti, usually growing up to 6-7 inches (20 cm) high, and are shaped similar to a barrel cactus. They are not to be confused with the fishhook barrel cactus of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. The Fishhook cactus is a large category of around 150 species.
Echinocereus engelmannii, the strawberry hedgehog cactus or Engelmann's hedgehog cactus, is a cactus commonly found in desert areas of the southwestern United States and the adjacent areas of Mexico, including the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Baja California and Sonora.
Schlumbergera opuntioides is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is endemic to the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil where its natural habitats are humid forests and rocky areas. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is in the same genus as the popular house plant known as Christmas Cactus or Thanksgiving Cactus.
Ferocactus wislizeni, the fishhook barrel cactus, also called Arizona barrel cactus, candy barrel cactus, and Southwestern barrel cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, native to northern Mexico and the southern United States. It is a ball-shaped cactus eventually growing to a cylindrical shape, with spiny ribs and red or yellow flowers in summer.
Ferocactus cylindraceus is a species of barrel cactus which is known by several common names, including California barrel cactus, Desert barrel cactus, compass barrel cactus, and miner's compass. It was first described by George Engelmann in 1853.
Ferocactus glaucescens, the glaucous barrel cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae, native to the limestone hills of Hidalgo, endemic to México. It is a spherical or cylindrical cactus growing to 60 cm (24 in) in diameter, with long yellow spines and yellow flowers in summer.
Opuntia, commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Prickly pear alone is more commonly used to refer exclusively to the fruit, but may also be used for the plant itself; in addition, other names given to the plant and its specific parts include tuna (fruit), sabra, sabbar, nopal from the Nahuatl word nōpalli, nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word nōchtli, and paddle cactus. The genus is named for the Ancient Greek city of Opus, where, according to Theophrastus, an edible plant grew and could be propagated by rooting its leaves. The most common culinary species is the Indian fig opuntia (O. ficus-indica).
Sclerocactus brevihamatus is a species of cactus known by the common name shorthook fishhook cactus.
Pediocactus sileri is a rare species of cactus known by the common names Siler's pincushion cactus and gypsum cactus. It is native to southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona in the United States. It is limited to a specific type of soil, individuals are often spaced far apart, and the species is threatened by a number of human activities such as off-road vehicle use, poaching, and uranium mining. This is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.
Sclerocactus brevispinus is a rare species of cactus known by the common name Pariette cactus. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it is known only from the Pariette Draw, a draw in Duchesne County. It is threatened by a number of processes and human activities.
Sclerocactus glaucus is a rare species of cactus known by the common name Colorado hookless cactus. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is known only from the area between Grand Junction and Montrose. It is a federally listed threatened species.
Sclerocactus sileri, the Siler fishhook cactus, is a rare and very small cactus found mostly in mineral-rich desert areas of intermediate elevations, notably in the American states of Utah, Nevada, and northern Arizona.
Ferocactus emoryi, known commonly as Emory's barrel cactus, Coville's barrel cactus and traveler's friend, is a barrel cactus in the genus Ferocactus.
Sclerocactus mesae-verdae, the Mesa Verde cactus or Mesa Verde fishhook cactus, is a species of cactus native to northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado. It is known only from Montezuma County (Colorado) and San Juan County. Much of the New Mexico part of the range lies inside land controlled by the Navajo Nation. The Colorado populations lie close to Mesa Verde National Park.
Pelecyphora alversonii commonly known as cushion foxtail cactus or cushion fox-tail cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae, native to the southwestern United States.
