The eagle claws cactus (Echinocactus horizonthalonius) is is a small barrel cactus, usually rounded in form and reaching a diameter of about 15 cm. It is quite common on limestone or lime-rich soils of parts of West Texas, New Mexico and in the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico. There is also an isolated population in a limestone area of Arizona, where it can grow in a columnar form, up to 30 cm tall.
This cactus is characteristically grey-green in colour, with a small number of broad ribs and deep grooves between them. The ribs are covered with stout red spines that curve like an eagle's claw.
