Beauty Of The Thorny Cactus
A cactus is a member from the plant family Cactaceae. The Cactaceae family involves around 127 genera for around 2500 known types of the order Caryophyllales. The word cactus was originally derived from the Old Greek word κάκτος, a name initially used by Theophrastus for a sharp and spiny kind of plant .
They are local to the Americas, going from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north, except for Rhipsalis baccifera . Those kinds of cactus plants have also been tracked down in Africa and Sri Lanka. Cactus plants can survive in extremely dry conditions, including the Atacama Desert, quite possibly the driest place on the planet.Cactus survive in deserts ( where water is scarce) due to following adaptations:
It has a level green stem to store a lot of water and get ready food by reverse photosynthesis. The stem is likewise covered with a thick waxy layer, which assists with holding water.
Cactus plants are a fundamental part of the desert biological system. They give homes to a wide variety of creatures, and their roots help to balance the soil.
Here are certain interesting facts about cactus plants.
- Cacti are as old as dinosaurs ( cacti most probably sprouted in the Cretaceous period i.e. up to 110 million years ago)
- Cacti appear in Mexico’s flag.
- Tallest recorded Cacti was more than 78 feet. The tallest cactus ever measured was an armless Saguaro cactus which blew over in a windstorm in 1986. It was 23.8 meters (78 feet) tall)
- Cacti is known for reverse photosynthesis . Unlike other plants which ingest carbon dioxide through their pores during the day and utilize sunlight to change over it into food, cacti ingest CO2 during night when the temperature is lower to limit water loss
- Cacti have medicinal use. e.g. a particular variety of cactus called Cladodes are used for gastric ulcer treatment and for its healing activity as therapeutic agents.
(Regional Plant Resource center , Bhubaneswar
Cacti (Cactaceae) are among the most familiar succulent plants and an easy favourite with collectors for their general ease of growth and showy flowers. The cacti are of special interest to botanists for the combination of the primitive, specialized flowers with highly advanced vegetative organs; to the ecologist for its survival under adverse conditions and drought; and to the evolutionist for its parallel life-forms to other unrelated xerophytes. As per a recent study, there are about 2,500 species of cacti belonging to 93 genera distributed in different parts of the world. Although none of the cacti is native to India, few species of Opuntia and Cereus are found naturalized in many parts of the country.
With a collection of 1050 species/ varieties of cacti, the Regional Plant Resource Centre, Bhubaneswar has the largest collection of cacti in Asia. It has evolved about 200 varieties/ hybrids of cacti by breeding, mutagenesis and growth manipulation. Research work at the Centre relates to standardization of culture techniques, propagation methods, breeding, mutagenesis, cytogenetic and molecular characterization of principal cactus genera. Several publications have also been brought out by the Scientists of the Centre in international and national journals of repute. RPRC , Bhubaneswar, has developed a Cactus House at Rastrapati Bhawan, New Delhi and one at Jeypore, Koraput, Odisha.)
Text : RPRC, Bhubaneswar
Image : Dr Manoj Mishra
Image : Dr Manoj Mishra
Image : Dr Manoj Mishra
Image : Dr Manoj Mishra
Image : Dr Manoj Mishra
Image source: RPRC
Image source: RPRC
Image: Dr Manoj Mishra
Dr. Manoj Mishra, lunarsecstasy@gmail.com
