Echinocactus grusonii

The golden barrel cactus is by far the most famous and widely cultivated. Large, perfectly globular to short cylindrical, covered in bright golden-yellow spines. It is native to a very restricted area in Querétaro and Hidalgo, central Mexico, and occupies volcanic rock outcrops in a very restricted area, at elevations around 1,000–1,700 metres. It grows slowly but steadily — a 30 cm specimen may be 10–20 years old, and the largest known wild plants are estimated at over 100 years old.

It has become one of the most culturally recognisable plants in the world.
It is the archetypal image of a cactus in popular culture across Europe and Asia, where most people have never seen a cactus in the wild.

It is used extensively in architectural and landscape design — particularly in Mediterranean climates and in modernist gardens. It is a staple of botanical garden collections worldwide. Its perfect geometric form has inspired artists, architects, and designers for over a century.

The famous cactus garden at Lanzarote (designed by artist César Manrique) features hundreds of E. grusonii as central elements.

Echinocactus grusonii is the most critically endangered and nearly extinct in the wild. Its natural habitat consists of just a few rocky hillsides in the canyon of the Río Moctezuma in Querétaro. The construction of the Zimapán Dam in the 1990s flooded a significant portion of its natural habitat. The remaining wild population is tiny and heavily protected. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and CITES Appendix I. Ironically, it is one of the most common cacti in cultivation worldwide — millions of plants are grown commercially, and it is found in virtually every botanical garden and cactus nursery on Earth. This creates a paradox — a plant nearly extinct in the wild that is simultaneously one of the most familiar cacti to the general public.

Photo by: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez