Login Get Involved in Creating EoE Content Encyclopedia of Earth Topics About the EoE Current Members and Authors Not a Mem ber? Search This Site Encyclopedia of Earth Cactaceae: The cactus family Pu blish ed : Au gu s t 7, 2 0 14 , 3 : 56 p m Agricultural & Resource Ec... Au t h o r : Sa ika t Ba su Au t h o r : Ra t n a b a li Sen gu p t a Biodiversity Au t h o r : Peim a n Za n d i Au t h o r : William Cet zal-Ix Biology Ed it or ia l Review: Ma r k McGin ley Climate Change Topics: Biology Biod iver sit y Ecology Bo t a n y Environmental & Earth Science Energy Environmental Law & Policy Environmental Humanities Food Forests Geography Hazards & Disasters Health Mining & Materials People Physics & Chemistry Pollution Society & Environment Water Weather & Climate Wildlife Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Cactaceae cactus (By Paolo Neo [Pu blic d om ain ], via Wikim ed ia Com m on s) The Cactaceae is a fam ily belonging to the order Caryophyllales. Cacti typically are found in dry and arid desert or sem i-desert regions with high average daytim e tem peratures and cold nights, and high evaporation rates. Cacti range from Canada to Argentina, predom inantly occurring in the warm and arid reaches of the continents of both North and South Am erica across a wide range of different habitats like deserts, sandy coastal stretches, scrublands, dry deciduous forests, high alpine steppes and tropical rain forests (Barthlott and Hunt, 1993; Gibson and Nobel, 1986; Nyffeler, 20 0 1). The m ain diversity centers are Mexico and south-west USA, central Andes, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina with Mexico being the richest and most endemic region (Boyle and Anderson, 2002; Ortega­Baes and Godínez­Alvarez, 2006). The family is classified into three subfamilies: Pereskioideae, Opuntioideae, and Cactoideae (Schumann, 1899; Barthlott and Hunt, 1993). Physical Description Cacti show remarkable variation in growth form including large tree-like or columnar forms, solitary or clum ped globular or globose habits, and even epiphytes and clim bers. Cacti are characterized by highly organized fleshy stem s and branches either bearing reduced or highly m odified leaves or leaves are often replaced by specialized spines, hairs, bristles or scales borne to a central swollen fleshy structure called the areoles, which in turn is understood according to botanists to be a reduced form of a branch. Most cacti m em bers are characterized by the presence of areole an im portant diagnostic character of the fam ily. Among other important reproductive diagnostic characters of the family include presence of composite tubular floral structure, pericarpels and tepals. Cacti are champions of adaptations to difficult environment and are a great model of understanding plant evolutionary biology. True leaves are quite rare am ong the fam ily m em bers to cope with their harsh desert environm ent. They generally have thin or think flattened or rounded stem s for efficient absorption of available m oisture in their dry and arid habitats with very little or low availability of water. Most terrestrial cacti have sm all or large spines as an effective protective m easure against herbivores as well as for preventing the loss of m oisture; while epiphytic members and climbers of the family usually have hairs or bristles providing similar function. This areolar arrangem ent of spines, bristles or scales show wide diversity am ong different m em bers of the fam ily showcasing spectacular m orphological adaptations (Fig 1). The root system of several species have been found to be long, branched with intricate interwoven networks reaching great depths below the arid Page 1 / 11 soil surface in search of available water of the water table. Cacti flowers are highly colorful and attractive bearing both accessory and reproductive whorls including intergrading sepals and petals forming composite tubular structure (with wide morphological modifications among different members), multiple stamens, single style and m uti-lobed stigm a. The flowers vary in color, shape and form across different genera and species (Figs 1-3) dem onstrating a kaleidoscope of color and spectacular form s adorning their dry, desert gardens. Figure 1. Diversity of morphology, vegetative and reproductive structures among different members of the Cactaceae family (Photos: Ratnabali Sengupta). Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Page 2 / 11 Figure 2. Ornamental cactus. 1. Astrophytum myriostigma Lem. 2. Astrophytum myriostigma var. quadricostatum (H. Moeller) Baum. 3. Astrophytum asterias (Zucc.) Lem. 4. Mammillaria elongata DC. 5. Gymnocalycium mihanovichii (Frič & Gürke) Britton & Ros. 6. Mammillaria mazatlanensis K. Schum. 7. Mammillaria sp. 8. Mammillaria aff. rosealba. 9. Mammillaria ignota Repp. 10. Leuchtenbergia principis Hook. 11. Espotoa sp. 12. Mammillaria longiflora (Britton & Rose) A. Berger. 13. Melocactus azureus Buining & Brederoo. 14. Parodia haselbergii (F. Haage) F.H. Brandt. 15. Mammillaria giselae Mart.-Aval. & Glass. (Photos: W. Cetzal-Ix). Figure 3. Ornamental cactus.. 1. Discocactus zehntneri Britton & Rose. 2. Mammillaria hernandezii Glass & R.A. Foster. 3. Mammillaria albicoma Boed. 4. Obregonia denegrii Frič. 5. Mammillaria plumosa F.A.C. Weber. 6. Opuntia microdasys (Lehm.) Pfeiff. 7. Mammillaria bocasana Poselger. 8. Mammillaria sp. 9. Mammillaria longiflora subsp. stampferi (Repp.) D.R. Hunt. 10. Geohintonia mexicana Glass & Fitz Maurice. 11. Coryphantha sp. 12. Sulcorebutia rauschii G. Frank. 13. Neoporteria nidus (Söhrens) Britton & Rose. 14. Gymnocalycium chiquitanum Cárdenas. 15. Mammillaria sp. 16. Opuntia sp. (Photos: W. Cetzal-Ix). Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Page 3 / 11 Figure 4. A-B. Plant shops showing variety of Cactaceae members for sale at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, D. Taijen, Taiwan, C. & E. Kolkata, West Bengal, India; F. Floral show displaying different ornamental varieties of Cactaceae at New Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. [Photo credits: A, B & D. Peiman Zandi; C. & E. Saikat Basu & F. Ratnabali Sengupta] Physiological Adaptations All cacti are succulents m eaning that they have highly specialized water storage tissues. Another interesting physiological specialization of cacti is that most undergo the Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) pathway for photosynthesis that involves CO2 intake at night for conserving m oisture due to com paratively lower rates of evaporation at night. The cacti capture the absorbed CO2 as an acid in this metabolic pathway which is eventually released during the day for the purpose of photosynthesis. Due to their low m aintenance requirem ents and ability to withstand harsh environm ents, cacti have becom e extrem ely popular as ornamental and horticultural plants all across the planet. They are considered as “evolutionary m ilestones” in the history of plant evolution for colonizing the planet and demands respect from us in conserving and protecting several wild species in nature that have been seriously threatened by anthropogenic activities and global climate change. List of m em bers representing Cactaceae fam ily is presented in table 1. Ta ble 1. Pla n ts be lo n gin g to Ca cta ce a e fa m ily. Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Ref. S p e cie s & a cce p te d Te xa Ge n e ra Fa m ily USDA, 20 14 Acan thocereus tetragonus (L.) Acan thocereus Cactaceae Page 4 / 11 Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Humm. (Engelm . ex A. Berger) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Ariocarpus fissuratus (Engelm.) K. Schum. Ariocarpus Scheidw. USDA, 20 14 Astrophy tum asterias (Zucc.) Lem . Astrophy tum Lem . USDA, 20 14 Astrophy tum m y riostigm a Lem . USDA, 20 14 Bergerocactus em ory i (Engelm.) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Borzicactus ventim iglia, R iccob. Borzicactus Riccob. USDA, 20 14 Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis (Willd.) A. Berger Brasiliopuntia (K. Schum.) A. Berger USDA, 20 14 Carnegiea gigantea (Engelm.) Britton & Rose Carnegiea Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Cephalocereus senilis (Haw.) Pfeiff. Cephalocereus Pfeiff. USDA, 20 14 Cereus hexagonus (L.) Mill. Cereus Mill. USDA, 20 14 Cereus hildm annianus K. Schum. USDA, 20 14 Cleistocactus baum annii (Lem .) Lem . Cleistocactus Lem . USDA, 20 14 Consolea corallicola Small Consolea Lem . USDA, 20 14 Consolea m oniliform is (L.) Britton USDA, 20 14 Corry ocactus apiciflorus (Vaupel) Hutchison USDA, 20 14 Corry ocactus aureus (Meyen ) Hutchison ex Buxbaum USDA, 20 14 Cory phantha echinus (Engelm.) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Cory phantha m acrom eris (Engelm.) Lem. USDA, 20 14 Cylindropuntia abysii (Hester) Backeb. USDA, 20 14 Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa Corry ocactus Britton & Rose Cory phantha (Engelm.) Lem. Cylindropuntia (Engelm.) Kreuzinger Page 5 / 11 (Engelm. & J .M. Bigelow) F.M. Knuth USDA, 20 14 Eccrem ocactus bradei Britton & R ose Eccrem ocactus Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Echinocactus horizonthalonius Lem . Echinocactus Link & Otto USDA, 20 14 Echinocactus poly cephalus Engelm. & J .M. Bigelow USDA, 20 14 Echinocactus texensis Hopffer USDA, 20 14 Echinocereus apachensis Blum & Rutow Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net USDA, 20 14 Echinocereus berlandieri (Engelm.) Haage USDA, 20 14 Echinom astus erectocen trus (J .M. Coult.) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Echinom astus intertextus (Engelm.) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Echinopsis candicans (Gillies ex Salm -Dyck) F.A.C. Weber ex D.R. Hunt USDA, 20 14 Echinopsis rojasii Cardenas USDA, 20 14 Epiphyllum ackerm anii Haw. USDA, 20 14 Epiphyllum hookeri (Link & Otto) Haw. USDA, 20 14 Epiphyllum oxy petalum (DC.) Haw. USDA, 20 14 Epithelantha bokei L.D. Benson USDA, 20 14 Epithelantha m icrom eris (Engelm .) F.A.C. Weber ex Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Escobaria albicolum naria Hester USDA, 20 14 Escobaria alversonii (J .M. Coult.) N.P. Taylor USDA, 20 14 Ferocactus cy lindraceus (Engelm .) Orcutt USDA, 20 14 Ferocactus eastw oodiae (L.D. Echinocereus Engelm. Echinom astus Britton & Rose Echinopsis Zuccagni Epiphyllum Haw. Epithelantha F.A.C. Weber ex Britton & Rose Escobaria Britton & Rose Ferocactus Britton & Rose Page 6 / 11 Benson) L.D. Benson USDA, 20 14 Ferocactus em ory i (Engelm.) Orcutt USDA, 20 14 Grusonia aggeria (B.E. Ralston & Grusonia Rchb. Hilsenb.) E.F. Anderson ex Britton & Rose Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net USDA, 20 14 Grusonia clavata (Engelm.) H. Rob. USDA, 20 14 Ham atocactus ham atocanthus (Muhlph.) F.M. Kunth Ham atocactus Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Harrisia aboriginum Small Harrisia Britton USDA, 20 14 Harrisia eriophora (N.E. Pfeiffer) Britton USDA, 20 14 Hatiora gaertneri (Regel) Barthlott Cactaceae Hatiora Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Hy locereus costaricensis (F.A.C. Hy locereus (A. Weber) Britton & Rose Berger) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Hy locereus trigonus (Haw.) Saff. USDA, 20 14 Hy locereus undatus (Haw.) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Leptocereus grantianus Britton USDA, 20 14 Leptocereus quadricostatus (Bello) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Lobivia arachnacantha Buining & F. Ritter USDA, 20 14 Lobivia caespitosa (J .A. Purpus) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Lophophora w illiam sii (Lem . ex Lophophora J .M. Salm-Dyck) J .M. Coult. Coult. Leptocereus (A. Berger) Britton & Rose Lobivia Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Mam m illaria barbata Engelm. Mam m illaria Haw. USDA, 20 14 Mam m illaria dioica K. Brandegee USDA, 20 14 M elocactus intortus (Mill.) Urb. M elocactus Link & Otto USDA, 20 14 Neolloy dia conoidea (DC.) Britton & Rose Neolloy dia Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 N otocactus acuatus (Link & N otocactus Page 7 / 11 Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Otto) S.Theun. (K.M. Schum.) Backeb. & F.M. Knuth USDA, 20 14 Opuntia aciculata Griffiths Opuntia Mill. USDA, 20 14 Opuntia am m ophila Small USDA, 20 14 Pachy cereus schottii (Engelm.) D.R. Hunt Pachy cereus (A. Berger) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Parodia concinna (Monv.) N.P. Taylor Parodia Speg. USDA, 20 14 Pediocactus bradyi L.D. Benson Pediocactus Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Pediocactus despainii S.L. Welsh & Goodrich USDA, 20 14 Pediocactus know ltonii L.D. Benson USDA, 20 14 Peniocereus greggii (Engelm.) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Peniocereus greggii (Engelm.) Britton & Rose var. greggii USDA, 20 14 Peniocereus greggii (Engelm.) Britton & Rose var. transm ontanus (Engelm.) Backeb USDA, 20 14 Peniocereus striatus (Brandegee) Buxbaum USDA, 20 14 Pereskia aculeata Mill. USDA, 20 14 Pereskia grandifolia Haw. USDA, 20 14 Pilosocereus poly gonus (Lam .) Byles & Rowley USDA, 20 14 Pilosocereus roy enii (L.) Byles & Rowley USDA, 20 14 Rebutia m inuscula K. Schum . Rebutia K. Schum. USDA, 20 14 Rhipsalis baccifera (Sol. ex J .S. Muell.) Stearn Rhipsalis Gaertn. USDA, 20 14 Schlum bergera truncata (Haw.) Moran Schlum bergera Lem . Peniocereus (A. Berger) Britton & Rose Pereskia Mill. Pilosocereus Byles & Rowley Page 8 / 11 USDA, 20 14 Sclerocactus breviham atus (Engelm.) D.R. Hunt USDA, 20 14 Sclerocactus brevispinus K.D. Heil & J .M. Porter USDA, 20 14 Sclerocactus glaucus (J .A. Purpus ex K. Schum .) L.D. Benson USDA, 20 14 Selenicereus coniflorus (Weingart) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Selenicereus grandiflorus (L.) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Sten ocereus fim briatus (Lam .) Lourteig USDA, 20 14 Sten ocereus thurberi (Engelm.) Buxbaum USDA, 20 14 Thelocactus bicolor (Galeotti ex N.E. Pfeiffer) Britton & Rose Sclerocactus Britton & Rose Selenicereus (A. Berger) Britton & Rose Sten ocereus (A. Berger) Riccob. Thelocactus (K. Schum.) Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Thelocactus setispinus (Engelm.) E.F. Anderson USDA, 20 14 Trichocereus auricolor Backeb. USDA, 20 14 Trichocereus callianthus F. Ritter USDA, 20 14 Trichocereus grandiflorus Backeb. USDA, 20 14 Trichocereus peruvianus Britton & Rose USDA, 20 14 Trichocereus uy upam pensis Backeb. USDA, 20 14 W igginsia fricii (Arechav.) D.M. Porter Trichocereus (A. Berger) Riccob. W igginsia D.M. Porter References and Further Reading Anderson, Edward F. 1961 A taxonom ic revision of Ariocarpus,Lophophora, Pelecy phora and Obregonia. PhD Dissertation,Claremont College. Anderson, Edward F. 1962. A revision of Ariocarpus (Cactaceae). II. The status of the proposed genus Neogom esia. The Am erican J ournal of Botany 49 (6): 615-622. Anderson, Edward F. 1966. The biography, ecology and taxonom y of Lophophora (Cactaceae). Brittonia 21: 299-310 . Barthlott WD, Hunt DR 1993. Cactaceae. In: Kubitzki K, Rohwer J G, Bittrich V(eds.), Flowering plants: Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Page 9 / 11 Dicotyledons, The Fam ilies and Genera of Vascular Plants Volum e 2, 1993, pp 161-197, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Germany Boyle TH, Anderson E. 20 0 2. Biodiversity and Conservation. In: Nobel, P.S. eds. (20 0 2) Cacti. Biology and Uses. University of California Press, Los Angeles, pp. 125-141. Bruhn, J . C. 1975. Phenethylam ines of Ariocarpus scapharostrus. Phytochem istry 15:250 9-2510 . Bruhn, J . C. and C. Bruhn. 1973. Alkaloids and ethnobotany of Mexican Peyote cacti and related species. Econom ic Botany 27(2):241-251. Casas A, Cruse-Sanders J , Morales E, Otero-Arnaiz A, Valiente-Banuet A. 20 0 6, Maintenance of phenotypic and genotypic diversity in managed populations of Sten ocereus stellatus (Cactaceae) by indigenous peoples in Central Mexico. Biodiversity Conservation 15:8 79-8 98 . Castaneda, M. 1941. A new cactus. Cactus and Succulent J ournal of Am erica 13:98-99. Cavalcanti Filho J RC. 20 10 . A água como elo de identidades sociais no semi­árido paraibano: de caso, Cabaceiras. Centro Universitário de Araraquara: Dissertação de mestrado (Mestrado em Desenvolvim ento Regional e Meio Am biente);196p. OpenURL estudo OpenURL Coulter, J ohn Merle. 1894. Prelim inary revision of the North Am erican species of Cactus, Anhalonium , and Lophophora. Contributions from the U. S. National Herbarium 3(2):91-132. Dominguez, X. A., P. Rojas, M. Gutiérrez, N. Armenta and G de Lara. 1969. Estudio quimico preliminar de 31 cactáceas. Revista de Ia Sociedad Quimica de Mexico 13(1):8A­12A. Dominguez, X. A., R. H. Ramirez, 0 . L. Ugaz, J . Garcia D., and R. Ketcham. 1968. Chemical study of the cactus Ariocarpus retusus. Planta Medica 16(2):18 2-18 3. Fernández­Alonso JL, 2006. Nueva especie colombiana de Brow ningia (Cactaceae, Cactoideae, Browningieae) potencialmente promisoria para el país. Revista de la Academia de Ciências Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. 30 (114):19-30 . OpenURL Fitz Maurice, W.A. and B. Fizt Maurice. 1999. Fieldnotes Cact Succ J (U S) 71 271-272..New Locations for Ariocarpus agavoides. Fitz Maurice, W A , and T E Davis 1987. Fieldnotes Cact Succ J (U S) 59 144-145. Fuentes VR. 2005. Etnobotánica de Cactaceae em Cuba. In Memorias del Taller Conservación de cactus Cubanos. Cuba: Jardim Botánico Nacional, Universidad de La Habana. pp.15­24. OpenURL Furst, Peter T. 1971. Ariocarpus retusus, the 'False Peyote' of Huichol Tradition. Economic Botany 25(2):18 2-18 7. Furst, Peter T. 1972. To find our life: Peyote am ong the Huichol Indians of Mexico. In: P. Furst, editor, Flesh of the Gods. Praeger Publishers, New York, pp. 136-18 4. Gibson AC, Nobel PS. 1986. The cactus prim er. Harvard University Press, Cam bridge, Massachusetts Glass, Charles and Robert Foster. 1974. Ariocarpus, Living Rock Cactus. Cactus and Succulent J ournal of Am erica 46(4):172-174. Gonzalez Q., L. 1972. Las Cactáceas Subfósiles de Tehuacán, Pue. Cactáceas y Suculentas Mexicanas 17(1):3-15. Jiménez­Sierra CL, Eguiarte LE, 2010. Candy barrel cactus (Echinocactus platy acantus Link & Otto): a traditional plant resource in Mexico subject to uncontrolled extraction and browsing. Econom ic Botany . 64(2):99-10 8 . Kiesling, R. 1982. The genus Pterocactus. The Cactus and Succulent Journal of Great Britain 44 3:51–56. Kiesling, R. 20 0 2. Pterocactus. (Cactaceae), nuevo registro para la flora de Chile. Gayana Botánica 59 2:61–63. Kiesling, R., J. Márquez, and N. Taylor. 2008. Pterocactus gonjianii. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 26 1– 2:43–53. Lim a J L. 1996. Plantas forrageiras das caatingas: usos e potencialidades. Petrolina: EMBRAPA, Brazil. Loza-Cornejo, S. and T. Terrazas. 1997. Stem and root anatom y of two species of W ilcoxia Britton (Cactaceae) of northeast Mexico. Boletín de la Sociedad Botánica de México 59:13–23. OpenURL and R ose Loza-Cornejo, S. and T. Terrazas. 20 0 3. Epiderm al and hypoderm al characteristics in North American Cactoideae (Cactaceae). Journal of Plant Research 116:27–35. Lyshede, O. B. 1982. Structure of the outer epidermal wall in xerophytes. In The Plant Cuticle. pp 87– 98. Cutler, D. F., K. L. Alvin, and C. E. Price. eds. Academic Press. London. Nyffeler R. 20 0 1. Phylogenetic relationships in the cactus fam ily (Cactaceae) based on evidence from trnK/ matK and trnL­trnF sequences. doi: 10.3732/ajb.89.2.312 Am. J. Bot. February 2002 vol. 89 no. 2 312-326 Ortega­Baes P, Godínez­Alvarez H. 2006. Global Diversity and Conservation Priorities in the Cactaceae. Biodiversity & Conservation, 15(3):817-827. Phillips O, Gentry AH, 1993. The useful plants of Tam bopata, Peru: II. Additional hypothesis testing in Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Page 10 / 11 Phillips O, Gentry AH, 1993. The useful plants of Tam bopata, Peru: II. Additional hypothesis testing in quantitative ethnobotany. Econ Bot. 47:33-43. Phillips O, Gentry AH. 1993. The useful plants of tam bopata, Peru: I. Statistical hypothesis tests with a new quantitative technique. Econ Bot 1993, 47:15-32. Pyke GH, 1984. Optim al foraging theory: a critical review. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Sy st.15:523-575. Schum ann K. 1899. Gesam tbeschreibung der Kakteen. Verlag J . Neum ann, Neudam m , Germ any. Sih A, Christensen B. 20 0 1. Optim al diet theory: when does it work, and when and why does it fail? Anim Behav 20 0 1, 61(2):379-390 . USDA. 20 14. Classification for Kingdom Plantae Down to Family Solan aceae. United States Departm ent of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Available at: https:/ / plants.usda.gov/ java/ ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=Solanaceae&display=63 [Accessed on 28 t h J une, 20 14] Voldan, NI. 1976. Ariocarpus trigonus (Weber) K. Schum ann var. m inor Voldan, eine neue varietaet. Kakteen und andere Sukkulenten 27(11): 242-243. Citation Basu, S., Sengupta, R., Zandi, P., & Cetzal-Ix, W. (20 14). Cactaceae: The cactus fam ily. Retrieved from http:/ / www.eoearth.org/ view/ article/ 53cebc870 cf2d0 22a359c880 0 Comments To add a comment, please Log In. Unless otherwise noted, all text is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. Privacy Policy | Neutrality Policy Supported by the Environmental Information Coalition and the National Council for Science and the Environment. Generated with www.html-to-pdf.net Page 11 / 11