From: "Madeleine Yeh" <myeh at wap.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Well of Miriam
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Date: Thu, 04 Aug 2005 16:30:59 -0400
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 15:51:03 -0400
  Candy Madigan <candymadigan at mindspring.com> wrote:
>>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".
>
    Argh!!  Things can be succulents without being
cactuses.  Think of a jade plant or an aloe.   I think
cactuses have flowers directly from the body of the plant
without an intermediate stem. They also have thorns which
are modified leaves, not modified stems.  Of course I
could be wrong.
   Details are fun.