Welcome to Catnapin's

Cactus Gallery

Barrel-shaped

Cactus are strictly an American Continent (North and South) drought tolerant plant.  They come in a vast array of shapes and sizes, a few don't even have thorns.  Most have incredibly beautiful flowers.  Some cannot tolerate cold while others thrive only in the mountains.  Many of these plants are protected against poaching by federal law.

Cactaceae - Cactus family

Lace Cactus (Purple Candle, Echinocereus) Echinocereus reichenbachii

Flower about 2" wide.  Barrels start off round balls but elongate as they age.  They range in size up to 3" wide and 8" tall.  These cacti can be found singly, branched, or in large groups.  These flourish in Permian red dirt.

Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas, April 2005

(Native of Texas)

Cactaceae - Cactus family

? Common Name **zc 1** Scientific Name

Missed the flower, blooms top center.  Ball shaped cactus are about 3" wide.  Areole is vertically oblong.  Thick spines are very white and obscure the tubercles.  Larger cacti have a central spine, smaller one does not.  These are found between limestone outcroppings.

Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas August 2005

(Native of Texas)

Hunting Similar Species

possible  Prickly Beehive Cactus (Sea Urchin Cactus) Coryphantha echinus (C. conifera var. echinus, C. pectinata, Mammillaria echinus)

Yellow flowers, small ball cactus.  Areole is vertically oblong.  White radial spines, with or without central spine.  Spines do not obscure tubercle.  (Native of Texas)

Cactaceae - Cactus family

Spinystar Escobaria vivipara var. radiosa (Coryphantha vivipara, Mammillaria radiosa, Echinocactus radiosus, Coryphantha radiosa)

Flower about 2" wide.  Barrel is about 5" wide and 8" tall.  Long tubercles with a fuzzy white areole and a ring of spines that do not obscure tubercles, white are planar, several red spines stick outward.  Found in 2004, so far this is the only specimen on my father-in-law's ranch.  It is growing in deep, limy sand.

Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas, flower April 2004, Aug 2005

(Native of Texas)

Smaller Specimen

Flower about 1 1/2" wide.  Barrel is about 4" wide and 4" tall.  Thorns are thin and long.  Long tubercles.  This cactus had never been found growing on my family's farm until 2004.  These are growing in limy gravel above Permian red dirt.

Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas, June 2005

(Native of Texas)

Cactaceae - Cactus family

Little Nipple Cactus Mammillaria heyderi ver. heyderi

Cream and pink flower about 3/8" wide.  Club-shaped fruit is about 1/2" long and edible.  Plant is a squat barrel 3"-4" wide, in the wild it rarely rises much above the soil.  These  grow in limy gravel above Permian red dirt.  The plant above is over 25 years old, and I know of one over 50 years old.

Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas, April 2004

(Native of Texas)

Cactaceae - Cactus family

Horse Crippler (Devils Pincushion) Echinocactus texensis

Broad and flat ribbed cactus can be 12" wide.  Spines are very thick.  Horses and cattle who step into this cactus can be injured.  Fruit is edible and tasty.  This cactus can live for decades.  These grow in limy gravel above Permian red dirt.  Hated by ranchers, these cactus are becoming rare.

Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas, April 2005

(Native of Texas)

Cactaceae - Cactus family

? Common Name **zc 2** Scientific Name

Flower about 3" wide.  Ball shaped cactus, 3" wide.  Spines are yellow with dark bases and they do not obscure the lumpy ribs.  Areoles are only slightly fuzzy.  The original plant froze during a hard winter snow.  It looked like a goner.  Goodthing I procrastinated digging it up.

Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas, May 2004

(Purchased)

Other Cactus Found in the Area

Claret Cup (Red Flowered Hedgehog) Echinocereus triglochidiatus var. melanocanthus

Claret Cup (Red Flowered Hedgehog) Echinocereus triglochidiatus var. paucispinus

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