Species · genus Ferocactus · Cactaceae

Mexican Lime Cactus

Ferocactus pilosus (Salm-Dyck) Werderm.

Also known as: Mexican Fire Barrel · Mexican Fire Barrel Cactus · Fire Barrel Cactus · Red Spine Barrel Cactus

Growth habit

succulent subshrub or shrub

Native range

Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southwest

Reference · F. pilosus

Cultivars of F. pilosus

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

No named cultivars catalogued under F. pilosus 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.

Ferocactus pilosus is a barrel-forming succulent shrub from the arid highlands of northeastern and southwestern Mexico, built to store water and withstand strong sun. Give it the brightest direct light you can offer and a gritty, fast-draining mineral mix. Water deeply only when the soil has gone completely dry to the bottom of the pot, and water much less in the cool, low-light months — sitting wet will rot it.

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

10–32 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus mix with extra pumice

Propagation

From seed; clusters offset with age

Fertilizing

Dilute cactus feed once or twice in spring and summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Orange-red blooms 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 Mexican Lime 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.