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Echinocactus platyacanthus
Species of cactus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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,[2] and its Nahuatl (Aztec) name is huitzli nahual.[citation needed]. It is native to central Mexico in the Chihuahuan Desert.[1] 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.
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Description
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This slow-growing species can reach sizes up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) tall and 1.5 m (4.9 ft) wide and can live over a hundred years. Previous records show that some specimens grow to almost 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) in thickness.[citation needed] 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 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in) in height, at least 0.9 m (2 ft 11 in) thick and weighs about 3 metric tons (6,600 lb).[citation needed] Another one at Ixmiquilpan, Mexico has a measured diameter of 120 cm (47 in) and is 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) high.[3] Britton and Rose reported a specimen (photographed, but not published) which was 1.33 m (4 ft 4 in) thick, by 3 m (9.8 ft) in height and weighed 2,000 kg (4,400 lb).[4] Britton and Rose also state that the Prussian botanist Von Karwinski saw specimens up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) diameter.[5] 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 60 [6]), and have large areoles. Their diurnal, tubular flowers bloom at the end of spring to summer and are a vivid greenish-yellow color;[7] they grow to about 2 cm (0.79 in) in height and 3 cm (1.2 in) in width.[8] Occasionally they are as much as 8 cm (3.1 in) in width.[9] The fruit is about 3 cm (1.2 in) long and is covered by a hairy wool.[10]
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Gallery
Echinocactus platyacanthus at 16 days
At 14 cm
Inflorescence
In natural habitat
References
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