Ferocactus pottsii (Biznaga)

Ferocactus pottsii (Salm-Dyck) Backeb.

Echinocactus pottsii Salm-Dyck

Biznaga

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Caryophyllidae	Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts
Order	Caryophyllales	Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants
Family	Cactaceae	Succulent (water-storing) plants, often spiny
Genus	Ferocactus	From the Latin ferus, “fierce,” and cactus, referring to its heavy spines
Species	pottsii

About plant names...

Whatever this cactus is called (see below), it is a Mexican native.

Confusion Alert: Is it pottsi or pottsii (or even potsii)? The name is for John Potts, manager of a mint in Ciudad, Chihuahua in the mid 1800s, and an enthusiastic naturalist. According to Anderson’s The Cactus Family, the name is Ferocactus pottsi, but an older synonym is Echinocactus pottsii (pottsii with two “i’s”). Poor Mr. Potts might be mortified to know that Latinizing his name has confused more than one naturalist: a fish he discovered in the Río Chuviscar in Chihuahua was originally named Etheostoma potsii and later corrected to pottsii. I couldn’t find any definitive rule in Botanical Latin for the spelling of the genitive case singular of proper names ending in “s.” Thanks to David Hollombe for directing my attention to the relevant portion of the ICN (International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants), which confirms that pottsii is correct.

If you aren’t confused yet, and I’m not doing my job if you aren’t, there is a Ferocactus pottsi var. alamosensis and a Ferocactus pottsii var. alamosanus (see cactus-art.biz). In addition to once again betraying uncertainty about the number of “i’s” in “pottsii,” alamosensis and alamosanus, one possibly a misspelling of the other, nevertheless actually do describe different species. Ferocactus pottsii var. alamosanus is now known as Ferocactus alamosanus.

Identification: Plants are up to 3' (1 m) tall and 20" (50 cm) in diameter, with 20 ribs. Each areole (the base of a spine cluster) contains a central spine up to 3" (7.5 cm) long, and 3-8 radial spines. Larger spines are darker, tinged with red-brown, and smaller spines are grayish white or yellow. Flowers are shaped like small bowls (most in this genus are funnel-shaped), and are yellow, sometimes with orange-red centers.

References:

Anderson, Edward F., The Cactus Family, Timber Press, 2001, p. 334

Online References:

Ferocactus pottsii at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Sonoran Desert Digital Library

Ferocactus pottsi on Desert-tropicals.com

Ferocactus pottsii at the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society

Ferocactus pottsii at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Center for Sonoran Desert Studies

Ferocactus pottsi var. alamosensis on Cactus Art: the World of Cacti & Succulents

Ferocactus pottsii description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

5/24/2009 · Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona
≈ 17 × 17" (43 × 43 cm)