Ask Me Everything1

WHATS ^m IN A NAME?

The name cactus comes from the Greek word kaktos, which means “prickly plant.” Opuntia cacti are known as “prickly pears” because they bear red and green fruit.

How can a cactus survive in the desert?

Cacti are nature’s water bottles, with tough, waxy skin to seal in moisture. Their thin, Sharp spines lose less water than ordinary leaves—and also detract plant-eating animals.

When the rains come, a cactus’s shallow roots take up enough water to last all year.

How to: take care of a cactus

Place the pot near a bright window but not in direct sunlight.

03 ■ Water the

cactus once a month, and not at all in the winter.

Plant your cactus in a pot that’s slighter bigger than it is.

04,

Give your cactus plant food two or three times a year.

05,

That’s it! No wonder cacti are such popular house plants!

02,

Tell me morę: cacti

Ą Cacti are flowering plants shaped like barrels, pillars, cushions, or candelabra.

ł There are two main groups of cacti: those that grow in the desert (usually spine-covered), and those that grow in the rain forest (often without spines).

ł Cacti belong to a group of water-storing plants known as succulents.

ł Most cacti are native to the Americas, though the mistletoe cactus is from Africa, Sri Lanka, and India.

ł Too much water or too much cold can kill a cactus.

ł Cacti grow slowly, but they can live for morę than 200 years.

ł Most cacti are smali, but some can grow to 9.8 ft (3 m) or morę.

Name that cactus

Fishhook cactus

This genus of smali cacti gets its name from the plants’ hooked spines.

Hedgehog cactus

This cactus’s fleshy fruit has prickly spines, like the animal. It’s also delicious!

Melon cactus

lt’s not difficult to see how this plump, round cactus got its name.

Old man cactus

The long, white hairs that cover this tali cactus look like a flufty white “beard.”

Bishop’s cap cactus

This cactus has four or five ribs that make it look like a bishop’s miter or headdress.

Some cacti are extremely smali

and look just like pebblesTIt

almost impossił

to spot them except when

are in flowe