Species · genus Ferocactus · Cactaceae

Devil's-tongue Cactus

Ferocactus latispinus (Haw.) Britton & Rose

Also known as: Devil's Tongue Barrel Cactus

Growth habit

succulent subshrub

Native range

Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southwest

Reference · F. latispinus

Cultivars of F. latispinus

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

No named cultivars catalogued under F. latispinus 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 from arid central and northern Mexico, this succulent stores water in its ribbed body and wants bright, direct sun with sharp, gritty drainage. Water deeply only once the soil has gone completely dry through the pot, then let it dry out fully again before the next watering. Sitting in damp or poorly drained mix will cause it to rot, so err toward keeping it dry, and water far less in winter.

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

8–32 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus mix with extra pumice

Propagation

From seed

Fertilizing

Dilute cactus feed once or twice in spring and summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Pink to purple flowers on mature plants in strong light

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 Devil's-tongue 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.