Types of cacti: varieties of plants without thorns or with leaves

Flora over the years of evolution has managed to adapt to life around the world. Cacti are plants that can survive in extreme heat and low humidity. At the same time, they surprise with a variety of species.

What is a cactus

According to the biological classification, all cacti belong to the Cactaceae family, the order Carnation. They are perennial blooming flora that can survive in the hottest and driest regions.

Variety of cacti

So, cacti grow even in the Atacama Desert, where the highest temperature on Earth is recorded.

Cactus are succulents, that is, plants that can store moisture. Most often they do not have leaves, but the stem is very developed. It is he who carries out photosynthesis and retains water.

Interesting. Some types of cacti are edible, some are poisonous.

Types of home cacti

Soil for cacti: basic soil requirements and options at home

Some of these harsh environmentally friendly plants can be grown at home. Florists are very fond of them, since succulents are quite unpretentious. The most famous types are described below.

Peyote

The parade of succulents opens with a very interesting representative known to science as Lophophora Williamsi. His homeland is the northern part of Mexico, Arizona. It is also known as the Peyote cactus, or Peyote. In appearance, it is rather inconspicuous - a small spherical flattened plant. It blooms with pink or white flowers. It is able to self-pollinate, because its fruits (pink berries with seeds) appear all summer.

Peyote cactus

These succulents were widely used by Indian shamans for prophecy and healing. This is because they contain a drug - mescaline. Mescaline cacti contain more than 50 alkaloids, but the above-named one has a hallucinogenic effect, very similar to the effect of LSD.

Important! Keeping peyote cactus in a house where children live is highly discouraged. For a child who accidentally swallows a berry, the consequences can be unpredictable.

Mix

A cactus mix is not called a specific plant, but a whole list of varieties. In each of them, different types of succulents are crossed. Popular mixes are as follows:

Epostoa. Differs in "fluffiness": not spines grow from a cylinder-like stem, but long soft hairs.
Echinocactus Gruzoni. Ball-like succulent, reaching 40 cm in diameter. It is covered with large yellowish rosettes of thorns.
Wall cactus. This plant has a lot of ribs, curving in small zigzags. There are few rosettes of thorns.

Among this category of succulents, there is another species that is worth talking about in more detail.

Indian line

The Indian line variety is referred to as mixes. These are the most common similar plants found in homes. They can look differently, from the general - only three points:

Small size. These succulents do not grow large.
Cactus Indian Line Mix
White thorns. They can grow abundantly, they can grow in moderation, but they are always there. The spines are thin and rather long, white or slightly yellowish.
Spherical shape. There are no flat Indian lines.

Others

Domestic cacti have many different types. Less popular, but still noteworthy plants are described below:

Echinocereus. It has a columnar stem covered with a scattering of thorns. The plant has many facets, it can reach 20-30 centimeters.
Prickly pear. A decorative type of succulents with a flat body and small thorns. The fruit, flower, leaves of the cactus are edible.
Mamillaria
Mamillaria. These small cacti are shaped like a ball. Their distinctive feature is the rosettes of long thorns that open like a flower. Some varieties even turn out to be completely entangled in them. The blooming mamillaria cactus looks very interesting: it produces not one flower, but several, all of them are located in a circle in the upper part of the stem.

Cacti with needles

Most of the cactus species are protected by needles. These are modified leaves adapted to survive in the heat.

With colored needles

Astrophytum cactus: different types of options and examples of home care

The spines can be of different colors: white, yellowish, silvery gray. The latter are the most common. Each natural color of thorns is due to specific features. In order to maintain the appearance of your indoor pet, you should provide him with appropriate care.

With multi-colored needles

If in the store all eyes are fixed on a cactus with red needles, then, no doubt, a man has worked here. It is quite simple to paint the thorns of a succulent, this procedure does not harm the plant. Food coloring is mixed into the water for irrigation or fertilizer, and the flora is fed or watered with this mixture. The cactus will absorb the paint and change the color of the thorns.

Note! You can tint the color of cactus needles yourself at home. All spike species are suitable for this.

With long needles

Most cactus species have medium-sized needles. There are species in which the length of a thorny thorn can reach 5 cm, this is:

Echinocactus;
Carnegia;
Some types of mamillaria;
Ferocactus;
Ferocactus
And many others.

Without needles

Fluffy cactus: what is the name and care options

There are these representatives of the flora and without needles, eg:

Hatiora. Despite the fact that it looks more like a coral bush, it is still cactus.
Ripsalis. It looks like a hatiora, but its stems slope downward and longer.
Epiphyllum. This cactus is also thornless, it blooms very beautifully. Blooms can be purple, pink, orange, bright red, or even mixed.

Variety of forms of cacti

These plants can be of many different shapes: squares or stars (like astrophytums), shrub-like and leafy plants. All these are just varieties of two shapes: round and flat.

Round

Most succulents have this shape. Such a cactus will be round, possibly with a pressed, flattened top. Some varieties grow taller and become cylindrical. Such stems have many faces - from three pieces. This includes, for example, peyote, mamillaria, mixes.

Flat

There are flat cactus. Their stems look like broad leaves, while they are fleshy, dense. The flat cactus is the prickly pear that has already been mentioned. This is a species that includes many varieties:

White-haired prickly pear;
White-haired prickly pear
Aciculata;
Lindheimer's prickly pear.

Cactus colors

Depending on the species, the succulent can be multi-colored. The most common are green, grayish, there are also other colors.

Pink

In order for the cactus to have a deep pink color, it must be modified, artificially prohibiting the development of chloroplasts. They are responsible for all shades of green in nature. Elimination of chloroplast harms the flora - without it, the process of photosynthesis is impossible. Therefore, there are few such plants. They get them like this: a modified sprout is grafted into a healthy one.

Interesting. This procedure was invented in Japan, because cacti are called Japanese.

Red

The cactus can be bright red, but only on top. A striking example of this is Mikhanovich's Gymnokalycium, a variation of Friedrich.It was with him that the creation of colored succulents began.

Gymnokalycium Mikhanovich

The upper red part is a scion that cannot exist without the rootstock - the lower part, a healthy, unmodified plant.

Blue

Bright blue cactus are rare on sale. However, in nature there are blue succulents obtained without human intervention, thanks only to nature, for example, Cereus Myrtillocactus geometrizans.

Less popular

In stores you can find indoor purple cacti, orange, yellow. Although they are bought less often.

Interesting! In any case, bright, eye-cutting colors are a sign of human intervention, not evolution.

Sizes of cacti

These plants come in a variety of sizes. In nature, there are specimens that can reach 15 meters, while not exceeding a meter in girth.

Large

The largest cactus in the world is the giant cireus. It is he who, in suitable conditions, can grow up to 15 meters long. The record figure for this species, recorded in Arizona in 1988, is 17.86 m.

Small

The smallest such succulent that nature has created is Blossfeldia liliputana. Blossfeldia miniature grows mainly in the mountains. Its diameter does not exceed 2 centimeters. Growing at home is rare - it is a rather complex culture.

Cacti with leaves

Usually, cacti do not have the usual leaves, yet they are found in some species.

Long-leaved cacti

An example of a cactus with long leaves is the Pachypodium. Water is stored in it "leg" - the trunk of a cactus, the leaves grow at the top. Due to the obvious similarity, the second name of this plant is the Madagascar palm.

Pachypodium

The foliage can grow very long (up to 75% of the stem length), the entire succulent can grow up to 8 meters.

Important! The pachypodium is poisonous, therefore it is not recommended to start it in a house with children or animals.

How to care for a cactus at home

Succulent is a plant that can be grown in an ordinary house. He does not have any special requirements. A number of rules that exist must be followed.

Requirements for land and watering

These plants love slightly acidic soil. Its classic composition for them is as follows: leaf and sod land, sand in equal proportions. However, for each specific type, it is adjusted depending on the specific requirements. You can make up the substrate yourself, you can buy it at the store.

Note! The pot must be suitable for the size of the cactus. Some species, such as mamillaria, for example, often sprout root sprouts - "babies", this also needs to be taken into account. There must be a drainage layer at the bottom of the pot.

These representatives of the flora need moderate watering. In summer, it is necessary to add water when the soil dries up. In the off-season, watering is enough once a month. For the rest period, watering stops altogether.

Temperature and lighting requirements

These plants love diffused light. Direct rays, especially in summer, can burn them.

Cacti on the windowsill

Most of the cactus species in the summer, during the flowering period, are suitable for temperatures from +15 to +25 degrees Celsius. In winter, during the rest period, it is recommended to lower the temperature to + 10-18 degrees Celsius.

How to feed cacti

Succulents need feeding, like most plants. They are fed most often with salts of nitrogen, calcium, potassium, phosphorus. It is easier to buy a complex fertilizer for this type of flora in a store. It should be borne in mind that you can only feed it when it grows. During the dormant period (when exactly it occurs, it depends on the type of plant, most often in summer), feeding is prohibited.

There are many varieties of cacti. Among all the variety, there is sure to be one that will suit any person. Caring for them is so simple that it will not be difficult even for those who have no time at all.