Echinocactus platyacanthus
{{Short description|Species of cactus}}
{{Speciesbox
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status = NT
|image = Kaldari Echinocactus platyacanthus 01.jpg
|taxon = Echinocactus platyacanthus
}}
Echinocactus platyacanthus is a member of the cactus family Cactaceae. It is also known as the giant barrel cactus, golden barrel cactus, giant viznaga, or biznaga de dulce,{{cite web|title=Giant Barrel Cactus, Biznaga Gigante Echinocactus platyacanthus|url=http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/59905/|work=Dave's Garden|access-date=7 December 2013}} and its Nahuatl (Aztec) name is huitzli nahual.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}. It is native to central Mexico in the Chihuahuan Desert. This species is the largest of the barrel cacti. In Mexico, its hairs are often used for weaving; and acitrón, a traditional Mexican candy, is produced by boiling the cactus pith.
Description
This slow-growing species can reach sizes up to {{convert|2.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall and {{convert|1.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide and can live over a hundred years. Previous records show that some specimens grow to almost {{convert|4|ft|m|1|abbr=on|order=flip}} in thickness.{{cite web|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/siteninja/multitenant/images/18793/images/medium/Echinocactus_platyacanthus_Oaxaca_DSC04272.jpg?1367857215|format=JPG|title=Photographic image|website=S3.amazonaws.com|access-date=1 April 2022}} What is probably the largest barrel cactus living today is the one called "Goliat" at the "Area natural de Daxpe", in the Municipio [county] de Cadereyta, Querétaro State, Mexico. It is {{convert|9|ft|8|in|m|2|abbr=on|order=flip}} in height, at least {{convert|3|ft|m|1|abbr=on|order=flip}} thick and weighs about {{convert|3|MT|lb|-2}}.{{cite web|url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B-bBvY5CMAAsdEJ.jpg|format=JPG|title=Photographic image|website=Pbs.twimg.com|access-date=1 April 2022}} Another one at Ixmiquilpan, Mexico has a measured diameter of {{convert|3|ft|11|in|cm|-1|abbr=on|order=flip}} and is {{convert|7|ft|10|in|m|1|abbr=on|order=flip}} high.{{ cite journal | last= Coulter | first= John M. | date= April 1, 1896 | title= Preliminary Revision of the No. American Species of Echinocactus, Cereus and Opuntia | journal= Contrib. To the United States Nat'l Herbarium | volume= 3 | issue= 7 |page= 83 plus photo plate XVIII B }} Britton and Rose reported a specimen ( photographed, but not published) which was {{convert|1.33|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} thick, by {{convert|10|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} in height and weighed {{convert|4400|lb|kg|-1|abbr=on|order=flip}}.{{cite book | last1= Britton | first1= Nathaniel | last2= Rose | first2= Joseph | date= 1963 |type=reprint | title= Cactaceae - Volume III | location= New York | publisher= Dover Press | page= 170 }} Britton and Rose also state that the Prussian botanist Von Karwinski saw specimens up to six feet (1.8 meters) in diameter.Britton and Rose, Cactaceae, loc.cit. The straight, rigid spines are black. The apex of the cactus is flat and covered with a yellow felt-like substance. They are heavily ribbed, with 25 to 30 vertical ribs (occasionally as many as sixty {{cite book | last= Hogan | first=Sean | date= 2004 | title= Flora - The Gardener's Bible | location= Willoughby, New South Wales | publisher= Global Book Pub. Pty. Ltd. | page= 526 with photo | isbn= 1-74048-097-X }}), and have large areoles. Their diurnal, tubular flowers bloom at the end of spring to summer and are a vivid greenish-yellow color;Hogan, Flora loc.cit. they grow to about {{convert|2|cm|in|abbr=on}} in height and {{convert|3|cm|in|abbr=on}} in width.{{cite web|title=Echinocactus platyacanthus|url=http://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/ECHINOCACTUS/Echinocactus_platyacanthus/Echinocactus_platyacanthus/Echinocactus_platyacanthus.htm|work=CACTUS ART NURSERY|access-date=7 December 2013}} Occasionally they are as much as three inches (eight cm) in width.Hogan, Flora loc. cit. The fruit is about {{convert|3|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and is covered by a hairy wool.{{cite web|title=Echinocactus ingens|url=http://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/ECHINOCACTUS/Echinocactus_ingens/Echinocactus_ingens/Echinocactus_ingens.htm|work=Cactus Art|access-date=7 December 2013}}
Gallery
File:Echinocactus platyacanthus 16days 1.jpg|Echinocactus platyacanthus at 16 days
File:Echinocactus platyacanthus9.jpg|At 14 cm
File:Echinocactus platyacanthus pm.jpg|Inflorescence
File:Echinocactus ingens3.jpg
File:Echinocactusplatyacanthus2.JPG|In natural habitat
References
{{Commons category|Echinocactus platyacanthus}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q239734}}
Category:Endemic flora of Mexico
Category:Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert
Category:Flora of Central Mexico