Introduction
The gift that nature has given to the cacti is incredible: they are plants that can survive even four or five years without a drop of water, and the cactus, as a thank you, produces beautiful flowers.
The cactus, a succulent plant par excellence, belongs to the Cactaceae family, which includes 150 genera and over 3, 000 species. Nature has allowed these plants to survive even with minimal amounts of water, even derisory ones, because they are destined to grow in very dry and dry environments: for this reason, the cacti are able to accumulate large quantities of water in the tissues; hence the appellattiva of "succulent plants".
Origin of the name
As for the etymology of the term, cactus derives from the Greek archaic κάκτος kaktos and refers to some species of thistles (Cynara); it is curious to remember how, around the middle of the 1700s, Carl von Linnè attributed the term cactus to a genus that included very few plants. It had to wait a few years before the "genus" cactus was recognized as a "family".
Features
Due to their typical anatomical and morphological structures, cacti are easily recognizable plants and, to a large extent, distinguishable from "common" plants: thorns represent an evolution (or involution) of leaves, and represent the recognition imprint of succulent plants.
The stem of the cactus has evolved to become succulent: it appears green because the chlorophyll function is not performed by the leaves, but by the stem.
In general, the flowers are large, with many petals and painted with bright colors, while the fruit has a fleshy consistency.
Their typical nocturnal flowering is particular: this happens because many animals or insects that live at night, such as bats or large moths, pollinate the cacti after sunset.
As far as size is concerned, cacti can be very massive and even reach heights of twenty meters, or very small (such as Blossfeldia liliputana, which in full maturity touches a centimeter in diameter), but that's not all. In fact, many cacti take on bizarre geometric shapes: they can be globose, columnar or flat, are arranged in groups or remain single.
The cacti are often endowed with buds enriched with fluff (a kind of hair) that develop into thorns.
uses
Due to their particular structure and shape, the cacti are mainly used as ornamental plants; however, there are also cases in which the cacti are destined to become crop plants.
It is curious how spinach, rhubarb, buckwheat, carnations and amaranth belong to the same order ( Caryophyllales ) of cacti.
These succulent plants originate from deserts and tropical forests with a difficult climate: despite this, man, attracted by the beauty and peculiarity of cacti, has introduced them also in Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa, forcing them to naturalize and adapt to climatic conditions that are decidedly different from their natural habitat.
The Opuntia Ficus Indica (belonging to the genus of Opuntia), better known as prickly pear, is the progenitor of the cactus, and is more widespread in Italy: the fruit is edible, therefore it is used for food especially in Sicily .
In Argentina, some cacti are used for the construction of fences; in the Andes, however, cacti are used to produce light wood for furniture.
Particular is the use of some cactus plants ( Lophophora williamsii ) in some rituals, given the hallucinogenic properties: the use of hallucinogenic cactuses is prohibited by law.
Properties of the cactus »
