A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word cactus derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek word κάκτος (káktos), a name originally used by Theophrastus for a spiny plant whose identity is now not certain. Cacti occur in a wide range of shapes and sizes. They are native to the Americas, ranging from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north, with the exception of Rhipsalis baccifera, which is also found in Africa and Sri Lanka. Cacti are adapted to live in very dry environments, including the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth. Because of this, cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. For example, almost all cacti are succulents, meaning they have thickened, fleshy parts adapted to store water. Unlike many other succulents, the stem is the only part of most cacti where this vital process takes place. Most species of cacti have lost true leaves, retaining only spines, which are highly modified leaves. As well as defending against herbivores, spines help prevent water loss by reducing air flow close to the cactus and providing some shade. In the absence of true leaves, cacti's enlarged stems carry out photosynthesis.
Schlumbergera truncata, the false Christmas cactus, is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is endemic to a small area of the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist forests. It is the parent or one of the parents of the houseplants called Christmas cactus, Thanksgiving cactus or zygocactus, among other names.
Schlumbergera is a small genus of cacti with six to nine species found in the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil. These plants grow on trees or rocks in habitats that are generally shady with high humidity, and can be quite different in appearance from their desert-dwelling cousins. Most species of Schlumbergera have stems which resemble leaf-like pads joined one to the other and flowers which appear from areoles at the joints and tips of the stems. Two species have cylindrical stems more similar to other cacti.
Jasminocereus is a genus of cacti with only one species, Jasminocereus thouarsii, endemic to the Galápagos Islands, territorially a part of Ecuador. In English it is often called the candelabra cactus. At maturity it has a branched, treelike habit, and may be up to 7 m (23 ft) tall. The stems are made up of individual sections with constrictions between them. Its creamy white to greenish flowers open at night and are followed by greenish to reddish fruits.
Ariocarpus is a small genus of succulent, subtropical plants of the family Cactaceae.
Disocactus is a genus of epiphytic cacti in the tribe Hylocereeae found in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. It should not be confused with Discocactus, which is a different genus.
Hatiora is a small genus of epiphytic cacti which belongs to the tribe Rhipsalideae within the subfamily Cactoideae of the Cactaceae. Recent taxonomic studies have led to the three species formerly placed in subgenus Rhipsalidopsis being removed from the genus, including the well known and widely cultivated ornamental plants known as Easter cactus or Whitsun cactus.
Brasiliopuntia is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae. It contains only one species, Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis.
Disocactus phyllanthoides, the nopalxochitl or German empress, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae. It is commonly grown as an ornamental houseplant. It is one of the three major species involved in creating the widely grown epiphyllum hybrids or "epis". The others are Disocactus speciosus and Disocactus crenatus.
Selenicereus anthonyanus is a cactus species native to southern Mexico. It is grown as an ornamental because of its nocturnal flowers and unusual, leaf-like stems. Common names include fishbone cactus, rickrack cactus, zig-zag cactus and St. Anthony's rickrack, and is sometimes referred to as an orchid cactus.
Schlumbergera kautskyi is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is endemic to a small area of the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil where its natural habitat is rocky areas. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is in the same genus as the popular houseplant known as Christmas cactus or Thanksgiving cactus.
Schlumbergera microsphaerica is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is endemic to a limited area of the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil where its natural habitat is rocky areas above 2,600 m (8,500 ft). It is threatened by habitat loss. It is in the same genus as the popular house plant known as Christmas cactus or Thanksgiving cactus.
Selenicereus grandiflorus is a cactus species originating from the Antilles, Mexico and Central America. The species is commonly referred to as queen of the night, night-blooming cereus, large-flowered cactus, sweet-scented cactus or vanilla cactus. The true species is extremely rare in cultivation. Most of the plants under this name belong to other species or hybrids. It is often confused with the genus Epiphyllum.
Johan Albert Constantin Löfgren (1854–1918), known as Albert Löfgren or Alberto Löfgren, was head of the botany department of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden around 1905. The plant currently known as Schlumbergera opuntioides is one of those he first named.
Schlumbergera orssichiana is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is endemic to a small area of the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil where its natural habitat is moist forest. It grows on trees as an epiphyte. It is in the same genus as the popular houseplant known as Christmas cactus or Thanksgiving cactus.
Schlumbergera russelliana is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is endemic to a small area of the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil where its natural habitat is moist forest. It grows on trees as an epiphyte. It is one of the parents of many of the popular houseplants known as Christmas cactus or Thanksgiving cactus.
The Rhipsalideae are a small tribe of cacti, comprising four or five genera. They grow on trees (epiphytes) or on rocks (lithophytes), where they either hang down or form creeping or upright shrubs. Their flowers open in the day and remain open at night; they may be either radially symmetrical (regular) or bilaterally symmetrical (zygomorphic). The fruits are berry-like, fleshy with smallish seeds.
Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri, synonyms Schlumbergera gaertneri and Hatiora gaertneri, is a species of epiphytic cactus which belongs to the tribe Rhipsalideae within the subfamily Cactoideae of the Cactaceae. Together with the hybrid with R. rosea, Rhipsalidopsis × graeseri, it is known, in English speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere, as Easter cactus or Whitsun cactus and is a widely cultivated ornamental plant. It has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Hatiora salicornioides, the bottle cactus, dancing-bones, drunkard's-dream, or spice cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family. A member of the tribe Rhipsalideae, it often grows as an epiphyte. It is native to eastern Brazil. It is sometimes grown both indoors and outdoors as an ornamental.
Hatiora herminiae is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Rhipsalideae, family Cactaceae. It grows as an epiphyte in cloud forests in Southeast Brazil.
