Cactus

Well after posting knitted cactus I thought I better post some real ones. I am hoping to have a large collection of succulents and cacti, I think there's something preastoric about them.

I bought this one from the local chazzer for 50p or maybe £1

As you can see it has a little baby.

 I'm not sure what type of cactus it is, if you know leave me a comment.

And then I got bought this one for Christmas 2011

These cultivars are often called Moon Cactus.

Genus: Gymnocalycium (jim-no-kal-LISS-ee-um)
Species: mihanovichii (me-han-oh-VIK-ee-eye)

The red top is a mutant Gymnocalycium, called Gymnocalycium mihanovichii, unable to make chlorophyll and therefore entirely dependent on the lower green grafting stock. Gymnocalycium  is commonly called the chin cactus and is a species of cactus from South America. Gymnocalycium mihanovichii completely lacks chlorophyll and can come in reds,oranges and yellows.The mutations die as seedlings unless grafted onto another cactus that can produce chlorophyll. Unfortunately even the best grafts only last a few years,as the base grows faster than the Moon cactus,at some point the difference in speed becomes too much for graft and the two split apart.

So when I saw this one I had to buy it.

Its now flowering!

I believe it to be of the  Mammillaria cactus family.

The Mammillaria family is one of the largest with 171 known species. Most come from Mexico but some are found in the Caribbean,Colombia, Venezuela's and Guatemala. Cactus Mammilleris derives its name from the Latin mammilla meaning nipple. Numerous species are commonly know as nipple cactus,fishhook cactus or pincushion.

I also bought this one at the same time.

It's a Madagascar Palm.

Genus: Pachypodium (pak-uh-PO-dee-um)
Species: lamerei (la-MER-ee-eye)

So its a succulent and not a cactus. Pachypodium are succulent spine bearing trees from Africa. There are now 25 known species, of which 20 come from Madagascar. The trunk can store water so it can survive seasonal droughts.The spines emerge with the leaves and grow for a short while before stopping and hardening,the spines do not re grow so weathering can wear away the older spines leaving a smooth trunk.

So when I saw a grow your own cactus from seed kit I had to get it.

So far I have 5 little cactus.

I don't know which ones are which at the moment but there's a mixture of Fishhook cacti, Golden Barrel cacti, Organ Pipe cacti and Giant Saguaro. Can't wait for them to get bigger they where planted about 2 weeks ago.I'll keep posting as they grow.