While the long, beautiful spines of a mature barrel cactus are truly a sight to behold, they are woven so tightly together, across the cactus' ribs that any environmental detritus that falls on or around the cactus, becomes entangled.
The Golden Barrel Cactus (Echinocactus grusoni)
Today, we'll be talking about the ever-lovely Golden Barrel Cactus (Echinocactus grusoni), first described by Hildmann (1891). I will admit that the barrel cactus has always been a favorite of mine. In retrospect, that is likely because it looks much like a cuddly pillow (unlike the soft-spined Paraguan and Brasilian native, (Notocactus leninghausii), but I digress.