Trees & Foliage Gallery

Mexican Fire Barrel Cactus

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While hiking through the beautiful desert countryside in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, I met this beauty, affectionately known as the Mexican Fire Barrel Cactus, officially named Ferocactus Peninsulae. Native to the Baja California Sur, this cactus can grow up to three feet tall and two feet wide. Its bright orange and yellow flowers bloom from the spring to early summer and its greenish-blue skin often develops purple striations during cold weather. It was traditionally used for food & medicine by the first people but is now protected by the Mexican government. Several birds & bees enjoy the sweet nectar produced by the flowers while Javelinas and other desert mammals consume the fruit & seeds it produces.

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