Plant · P-1129

Horse Crippler

Echinocactus texensis

Horse Crippler is a solitary, nearly flat-topped barrel cactus that hugs the ground, typically only an inch or two tall but spreading up to a foot across in a single dense, heavily spined stem. Large, inverted bell-shaped flowers open in the day, salmon-red on the outside and salmon-pink streaked with red inside, over a long spring-to-summer season. It grows in full sun on dry, sandy or limestone-derived ground in desert flats, grassland and scrubland, tolerating heavy drought once established. Its low, camouflaged form and stout central spines make it a hazard to bare feet and unshod livestock.