Hamatocactus

Morphological Summary

Hamatocactus is a small genus of globose to shortly cylindrical cacti from the Chihuahuan Desert, distributed across Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. Their most distinctive feature is the strongly hooked lower central spine (from Latin hamatus, hooked) that gives them their common name of fishhook cactus. Flowers are large relative to plant body, generally yellow with a red center, and the ripe fruits are reddish and ornamental. Some authors place them within Ferocactus or Thelocactus, but they form a morphologically coherent group highly valued in collections.