Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 23:01:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: dicconf <dicconf at radix.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: cactus in the mist
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

On Wed, 3 Aug 2005, ronkean at juno.com wrote:

> Common sense suggests that cactus, or cactus-like plants, would have
> become established in suitable dry, hot, desert environments throughout
> the world.

Yes,  sometimes by parallel evolution -- there are some spiny desert
plants in Southern Africa which look superficially like cacti, but aren't
even flowering plants -- they're gymnosperms.  But it would seem that New
World cactus, like rabbits in Australia, got introduced more or less by
accident and found that without natural enemies they could expand all over
hellangone.

-- Dick Eney