All about...#26 - Cacti

Cacti (singular-cactus) are a type of plant that lives naturally in dry conditions in deserts. But they can also be grown and kept at home. They are part of the Cactaceae family and come in a wide variety of sizes and colors. The name Cactus comes from the ancient Greek word κάκτος, which means something along like spiky. Cacti are known for not needing that much water.

Cacti are found in almost any major desert, whether it is cold or hot. Remember, Cacti don't need that much water to survive. They are found in Patagonia, Latin America, Sahara, Australia, and even parts of Sri Lanka. The interesting thing is that Cacti really haven't being relocated that much - unless in people's homes. Some people like to have Cacti in their homes, even though they have very sharp spots!

Since Cacti are found in different locations and have been around for thousands of years, they evolved into many different species. Some include the Ariocarpus confusus, which live in the mountains, Armatocereus oligogonus which is very spiky and big, and the cool leafy Brasiliopuntia Brasiliensis, found in Brazil. Since there are over 100 species, they each live in different habitats, ranging from deserts to mountains, to even coastal areas, like some of the coast of Venezuela.

Cacti were first documented of being used about 15,000 years ago in South America, somewhere in Latin America, either Chile or Brazil. Speaking of Latin America, it became widely popularized in Mexico, because of the myth about how the eagle landed on the cactus caring a serpent...it is also on their flag today. The thing is that Europeans didn't even see Cacti until they landed in the Americas in the 15th century, that's when they realized it wasn't the MOST useful plant...

But it was also used in Food. Different types of Cuisines like Indian and Mexican used these foods to create Dragon fruit, Saguaro, and more.

Other Uses include using it in dyes and fodder for animals.

As mentioned above, Cacti don't need that much water...but they still need SOME. These are some ways they get H2O:

Stems Like trees, they store most of their water here, that way, in case of a drought or hot day, they have water.

Roots Just like stems, during rain, the roots get active and try to get lots of water, but it's cool that some Cacti also have taproots, like the ones in the Atacama desert.

Spines/Leaves They are very important to keep the Cacti running, as longer leaves mean more successful Cacti. The sad thing is, they have lots of areas in those leaves, but they are mostly composed of dead cells. However, when they do get it, it drips down and gets absorbed by the roots.