Classifications of a Cactus Plant
- 1. Kingdom Since a cactus is a plant, it falls into Kingdom Plantae. ...
- 2. Phylum and Division All cacti plants belong to the Phylum Tracheophyta and division Anthophyta. ...
- 3. Class and Subclass These succulents are part of class Magnoliopsida, also referred to as dicots and subclass Caryophyllidae. ...
- 4. Order and Family Cacti plants belong to order Caryophyllales and family Cactaceae. ...
- 5. Genus ...
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Which phylum are cacti in?
Within the Tracheophyta Phylum, cacti are classified as being within the Magnoliophyta Division, which are plants that bear flowers and produce seeds that contain endosperm (The substance within a plant seed which surrounds and provinces food for the embryo).
What kingdom are cacti in?
Cacti are situated within the Plantae Kingdom, growing by photosynthesis. They are also members of the Tracheophyta Phylum, which includes land plants with lignified tissues (hard and wood-like, containing lignin), for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant, as well as non-lignified tissue for conducting photosynthesis.
What is the name of the cacti that have two cotyledons?
Dicotyledonae are identified by seeds having two cotyledons (a kind of embryonic leaf inside of a growing seed), also known as "dicots .". Within the Dicotyledonae Class, cacti are descended from the lineage of Magnoliopsida. The Caryophyllales Order is characterized by adaptations to extreme environments.
What are the adaptations of the Caryophyllales order?
The Caryophyllales Order is characterized by adaptations to extreme environments. These adaptations are primarily focused on hostile conditions, such as limited access to moisture, highly alkaline or salinated soil and nutrient-poor soil. Besides the cactus, this order includes venus fly traps, mangroves and beets.
How many species are in the Plantae kingdom?
This is the largest phylum in the Plantae Kingdom, containing at least 350,000 known species ranging from roses to mango plants.
What is the name of the division of cacti?
As a further specification, within the Magnoliophyta Division, cacti fall within the subdivision of Anthophyta, commonly known as Angiospermae. This subdivision includes flowering plants that produce seeds surrounded by a protective structure, called the "fruit," regardless of whether or not the fruit is edible. Advertisement.
How many sub-tribes are there in the Cactaceae family?
Cactoidea makes up the largest tribe of genera within the Cactaceae Family, and has actually been further divided into eight sub-tribes, each with their own characteristics:
What are cactus flowers?
Like their spines, cactus flowers are variable. Typically, the ovary is surrounded by material derived from stem or receptacle tissue, forming a structure called a pericarpel. Tissue derived from the petals and sepals continues the pericarpel, forming a composite tube—the whole may be called a floral tube, although strictly speaking only the part furthest from the base is floral in origin. The outside of the tubular structure often has areoles that produce wool and spines. Typically, the tube also has small scale-like bracts, which gradually change into sepal-like and then petal-like structures, so the sepals and petals cannot be clearly differentiated (and hence are often called " tepals "). Some cacti produce floral tubes without wool or spines (e.g. Gymnocalycium) or completely devoid of any external structures (e.g. Mammillaria ). Unlike the flowers of most other cacti, Pereskia flowers may be borne in clusters.
How many species are there in the cactus family?
Detailed treatments published in the 21st century have divided the family into around 125–130 genera and 1,400–1,500 species, which are then arranged into a number of tribes and subfamilies. The ICSG classification of the cactus family recognized four subfamilies, the largest of which was divided into nine tribes.
What are cacti like?
In most other cacti, the branches are more typically cactus-like, bare of leaves and bark, and covered with spines, as in Pachycereus pringlei or the larger opuntias. Some cacti may become tree-sized but without branches, such as larger specimens of Echinocactus platyacanthus. Cacti may also be described as shrubby, with several stems coming from the ground or from branches very low down, such as in Stenocereus thurberi.
How tall is the smallest cactus?
The tallest free-standing cactus is Pachycereus pringlei, with a maximum recorded height of 19.2 m (63 ft), and the smallest is Blossfeldia liliputiana, only about 1 cm (0.4 in) in diameter at maturity.
Where do cacti grow?
Cacti are often grown in greenhouses, particularly in regions unsuited to the cultivation of cacti outdoors, such the northern parts of Europe and North America. Here, they may be kept in pots or grown in the ground. Cacti are also grown as houseplants, many being tolerant of the often dry atmosphere. Cacti in pots may be placed outside in the summer to ornament gardens or patios, and then kept under cover during the winter. Less drought-resistant epiphytes, such as epiphyllum hybrids, Schlumbergera (the Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus) and Hatiora (the Easter cactus), are widely cultivated as houseplants.
What is a cactus in Singapore?
Many species of cactus have long, sharp spines, like this Opuntia. A cactus (plural cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species ...
What are the spines of cactus?
Cactus spines are produced from specialized structures called areoles, a kind of highly reduced branch. Areoles are an identifying feature of cacti. As well as spines, areoles give rise to flowers, which are usually tubular and multipetaled.
What are cactuses classified as?
They come in many, many different forms, and they are simply classified by most people as as ‘cactuses’, ‘cacti’, ‘plants’, or ‘succulents’. All those answers are correct.
What family is a cactus in?
The cactus are in the Cactaceae family, which includes many genera and species. Stems are photosynthetic, and open their stomata at night to release O2 and take in CO2 needed for photosynthesis when sun comes up. They change the CO2 to a type of acid then close up the stomata.
What is the name of the cactus that grows like a tree?
Fully-grown specimen of Carnegiea gigantea also known as Saguaro. In Mexico, the Organ Pipe Cactus you may know from the Sonoran Desert grows like a tree. Stenocereus thurberi in Central Sinaloa, Mexico. And that is what remains from a stately Saguaro after its death.
How tall do cactus trees get?
They are certainly as high as many trees, up to 15 meters or 50 ft and live close to 300 years, more than most fruit trees.
How many species of cacti are there?
There are some 2500 different species of cacti. None of them is a herb. A herb is a plant that grows from seed and usually flowers, sets seeds and dies in the same year. Some also are bi-annual, like the wallflowers. They germinate and grow in one year, flower and set seed and die in the following.
What is a cactus?
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactacea. Here are some common characteristics of cacti,but they DON’T apply to 100 percent of cacti. They are usually leafless and have spines. They usually live in dry environments. They may or may not have branches, but if they do the number of branches are limited.
What is a shrub?
Shrubs are the plants with bushy appease. In these plants many equal sized branches arise from near the base if a plant. These branches are woot below and herbaceous above.
How to identify a cactus?
Cactus identification is usually based on their shape, blooming habits, and spines or hairs. Cacti can have a spherical, columnar, cylindrical, or disc shape and typically have characteristic areoles (small bumps) where sharp or soft spines grow. All types of cactus flower, and you can tell the species depending on when it blooms.
What color are cactus flowers?
Although short-lived, cactus flowers can be stunning. Cactus flowers can be various colors from deep pinks to beautiful shades of red. Yellow, orange, white, and burgundy flowers are also common in various types of cactus.
What cactus can I plant in the desert?
Some good choices of desert cactus types for growing outside are the Arizona Barrel Cactus, the Prickly Pear, and the Old Man Cactus.
How big does a powder puff cactus get?
The spherical cactus will grow to between 3” and 5” (7.5 – 12 cm) high and about the same in diameter.
How many hours of darkness does a Christmas cactus need?
To ensure the Christmas cactus flowers, it needs to be in cool conditions with little water and get 12 – 14 hours of darkness every day.
How tall does a bunny ear cactus grow?
This type of cactus houseplant looks comical with its green pads that resemble rabbit’s ears. The indoor cactus can grow around 15” to 23” (40 – 60 cm) tall. However, as with most cacti, the Bunny Ears cactus is slow-growing and a small type of plant will take a few years to reach this height.
What is the name of the old lady cactus?
The Old Lady cactus (name: Mammillaria hahniana) is a large, spherical type of cactus that is covered in spikes and fine spines.
What color is a cactus?
The color of a cactus can also serve as an indicator for its identity, but there are so many types to choose from that you may not be able to make an accurate guess just by looking at it. A white-spined barrel cactus might have a green body while another spiny species might have a green-brown body. The yellowish color of the dwarf saguaro is a lot different from the brown spines on a barbed wire cactus, and so on.
How to determine cactus type?
When determining your cactus type based on its natural habitat, it’s important to take note of the altitude level that it grows in. For example, a cactus found at lower elevations will have spines on its fruit whereas plants with less exposure to sunlight and more moisture tend to produce flowers instead (e.g., pereskias). This should help you identify your cactus type if it falls into the columnar category.
What type of cactus has stripes?
If you have a columnar cactus with vertical stripes in alternating colors then it is most likely a cardon, while if your cactus has radial patterns and spines then it’s more than likely to be either the barrel or saguaro type.
What is the difference between a saguaro cactus and a barrel cactu?
For instance leaves from a saguaro cactus are flat, while the leaves of a barrel cactus grow in an upright position.
How to tell if a cactus is spiny?
The leaves of the cactus plant are one key feature you may want to look into. Are your plants spiny or not? You can find out by looking at their leaves. Spines on a leaf will be needle-like and sharp, while non-spiny types have soft edges. Some other helpful clues about your cacti plant would be the color and shape of its leaves.
How tall do cactus get?
The tallest of all the succulents is the Saguaro Cactus, which can grow up to 50 feet tall without too much trouble. On the other hand there are small varieties like hedgehog and pereskia that will only reach a height of about six inches or so. Just a quick physical examination of your cactus’ height can help you determine what type of cactus plant it is.
How do you know what type of cactus you have?
There is no sure way to know for certain what type of cactus you have without a visual inspection on your part. This article will be looking at the various physical factors to look out for when identifying a cactus type.
Introduction
The classification of the family Cactaceae remains uncertain as of March 2012 [update] . Since the mid-1990s, the system produced by the International Cactaceae Systematics Group (ICSG) of the International Organization for Succulent Plant Study has been used as the basis of many published classifications.
Nyffler and Eggli (2010) classification
In 2010, Nyffler and Eggli produced a classification based on an explicit phylogeny. The broad outlines of their cladogram agree with that of Hern et al. (2011), shown above, although some details are different. Their classification corresponds to the cladogram shown below.
Earlier classification
Unless otherwise indicated, the subfamily placement of the genera listed here is based on Anderson's 2001 presentation of the ICSG classification, as is the tribal placement of the genera of the subfamily Cactoideae. The division of the subfamily Opuntioideae into tribes is additional to the ICSG system.
Overview
Taxonomy and classification
Naming and classifying cacti has been both difficult and controversial since the first cacti were discovered for science. The difficulties began with Carl Linnaeus. In 1737, he placed the cacti he knew into two genera, Cactus and Pereskia. However, when he published Species Plantarum in 1753—the starting point for modern botanical nomenclature—he relegated them all to one genus, Cactus. …
Morphology
The 1,500 to 1,800 species of cacti mostly fall into one of two groups of "core cacti": opuntias (subfamily Opuntioideae) and "cactoids" (subfamily Cactoideae). Most members of these two groups are easily recognizable as cacti. They have fleshy succulent stems that are major organs of photosynthesis. They have absent, small, or transient leaves. They have flowers with ovaries that lie below the sepals
Adaptations for water conservation
All cacti have some adaptations to promote efficient water use. Most cacti—opuntias and cactoids—specialize in surviving in hot and dry environments (i.e. are xerophytes), but the first ancestors of modern cacti were already adapted to periods of intermittent drought. A small number of cactus species in the tribes Hylocereeae and Rhipsalideae have become adapted to life as climbers or epiphytes, often in tropical forests, where water conservation is less important.
Phylogeny and evolution
A 2005 study suggested the genus Pereskia as then circumscribed (Pereskia sensu lato) was basal within the Cactaceae, but confirmed earlier suggestions it was not monophyletic, i.e., did not include all the descendants of a common ancestor. The Bayesian consensus cladogram from this study is shown below with subsequent generic changes added.
Distribution
Cacti inhabit diverse regions, from coastal plains to high mountain areas. With one exception, they are native to the Americas, where their range extends from Patagonia to British Columbia and Alberta in western Canada. A number of centers of diversity exist. For cacti adapted to drought, the three main centers are Mexico and the southwestern United States; the southwestern Andes, where th…
Reproductive ecology
Cactus flowers are pollinated by insects, birds and bats. None are known to be wind-pollinated and self-pollination occurs in only a very few species; for example the flowers of some species of Frailea do not open (cleistogamy). The need to attract pollinators has led to the evolution of pollination syndromes, which are defined as groups of "floral traits, including rewards, associated wit…
Uses
As of March 2012 , there is still controversy as to the precise dates when humans first entered those areas of the New World where cacti are commonly found, and hence when they might first have used them. An archaeological site in Chile has been dated to around 15,000 years ago, suggesting cacti would have been encountered before then. Early evidence of the use of cacti includes cav…