A giant barrel cactus and yucca plants in the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico

© Patricio Robles Gil/Minden Pictures

A giant barrel cactus and yucca plants in the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico

Though they’re often cultivated as ornamental plants, giant barrel cactuses grow wild in the Chihuahuan Desert, which covers parts of both Mexico and the United States. The barrel cactus grows slowly and can live for a century. Some are taller than eight feet and can be four feet wide.