Species · genus Ferocactus · Cactaceae

Emory's Barrel Cactus

Ferocactus emoryi (Engelm.) Orcutt

Also known as: Coville's Barrel Cactus · Traveler's Friend

Growth habit

succulent subshrub or shrub

Native range

Arizona, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest

Reference · F. emoryi

Cultivars of F. emoryi

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under F. emoryi yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

A barrel cactus native to the arid deserts of Arizona and northern Mexico, this succulent stores water in its ribbed body and needs gritty, fast-draining mineral soil. Give it the brightest, most direct light you can and water deeply only when the soil has been bone dry for some days — wait until the top several inches are fully dry, then water thoroughly. In cooler months it wants even less; standing moisture and dense potting mix will rot the roots.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 30 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

7–32 °C

Soil mix

Very gritty, fast-draining cactus mix

Propagation

Seed; slow to germinate

Fertilizing

Dilute cactus feed once in early summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Large red to pink blooms on mature plants; rare indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Emory's Barrel Cactus yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.