Types Of Cactus
What type of cactus are there? The various types of cactus include:
The hedgehog cactus
These types of cactus are mostly found in the South West part of United States of America. These are the areas which borders Mexico. They are mostly identified with the spectacular flowers they produce. Although they exist in a variety of colours such as yellow, red etc. pink is very predominant. The hedgehog cactus grows to an average height of 20 inches. They include the echinocereus, E. viridiflous, E. minima, E. triglochidiatus etc. Some species of hedgehog cactus may have a stem of between two to three metres as a result of moulds of several stems.
The barrel cactus
The stems of these types of cactus are cylindrical in shape. Flowers develop at the top of these stems which vary in colour depending on the plant species. Examples of barrel cactus include the Ferocactus; Fish hook cactus, golden Fish cactus, etc. They vary in sizes depending on the type of specie as well. For instance, the golden barrel cactus grows to a height of 33 inches with a stem width of 24 inches. On the other hand, the Echinocactus platycanthus grows to a height of 84 inches and a width of 30 inches. The barrel cactus also produces yellow fruits.
The columnar cactus
Most of these types of cactus produce white flowers. These cacti produce flowers at different heights and time depending on their habitats. For instance, saguaros found in the mountain region start flowering at the age of 55 when they are 8 inches high. Most columnar cactus produce flowers which are bugle shaped. Examples of these types of cactus include Pachycereus, Trichocereus etc.
These types of cactus depend on bats for pollination of their flowers. This is because they open their flowers during the night. They are mostly found in Mexico, Southwest of the USA and some parts of America. The columnar cactus store large quantities of water and have a very long life span of over 200 years.
The Sub-surface cactus
These types of cactus have a very unique life cycle. They have most of their parts buried in the soil to adapt to the harsh weather conditions in the desert. The buried part has the ability to preserve moisture but during rainy seasons the buried part does expand which results to its exposure to the surface. Examples of the sub-surface cactus include the Ariocarpus, the Escobaria, the Pelycyphora, and the Strombacactus.
The cluster of balls cactus
In these types of cactus, the stem is composed of small stems of about 6 cm which forms a considerably large clump above the soil surface. They produce flowers of almost all colours although the most common ones are the magenta, red pink and orange. Cactus in this category includes Lobivia, Sulcorebutia etc.
The various types of cactus mentioned above are just a few examples of the existing types of cactus. Some cacti develop extra features to enable it to adapt to specific habitat e.g. those in deserts must develop mechanisms of conserving water.
