Date: Thu, 04 Aug 2005 15:51:03 -0400
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
From: Candy Madigan <candymadigan at mindspring.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Well of Miriam
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

>My understanding is that Cactus is an American plant.  The old world has
>plants that look a lot like cacti (thick skin, few or no leaves, etc.), and
>inhabit similar environments, but they aren't related.  Someone who isn't a
>botanist could easily mistake them though.
>
><googles>
>
>http://www.answers.com/topic/cactus says, in part:
>--------------
>Cacti are almost exclusively New World plants. This means that they are
>native only in North America and South America. There is however one
>exception, Rhipsalis baccifera; this species has a pantropical
>distribution, occurring in the Old World in tropical Africa, Madagascar and
>Sri Lanka as well as in tropical America. This plant is thought to be a
>relatively recent colonist in the Old World (within the last few thousand
>years), probably carried as seeds in the digestive tracts of migratory
>birds. Many other cacti have become naturalized to similar environments in
>other parts of the world after being introduced by man.
>
>Although many other succulent plants exist in the Old World, even a few
>with spines, they are not cacti because they lack areoles. These
>specialized structures are unique to cacti and identify the family.
>-------------

So basically, it's only important if you are a botanist or are anal
retentive?  OK.  Not being either, I'll continue to call most succulents
"cacti".

Candy
(301)345-6635