Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Cactus Family - Cactaceae
The scientific name of the cactus family Cactaceae is.The Cactaceae are mostly spiny succulents with photosynthetic stems that are a little more than 100 genera and species from 1500 to 1800 (Neffeler 2002).
A succulent is a plant that stores water for times when water is scarce.They are commonly found in arid environments such as deserts or semi-desert.They can also live in areas of extreme rainfall, but unreliable (as when it rains only once or twice a year in quick bursts).The cactus plants are among the most remarkable and characteristics of hot and arid areas of the New World (Nyffeler, 2002).
The cactus family is entirely of U.S. origin.Most species of cacti occur on the ground while few can be found in the leaves of trees in tropical rainforests (Zomlefer 1994).Centers of diversity, arid regions of North and South America, including the southwestern United States and Mexico, eastern Brazil and eastern and western slopes of the Andes of South America (Nyffeler 2002.)
Others may occur in the Eastern and Middle Western U.S. The northern boundaries of cacti including Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and even the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario when they go south to the aforementioned fields of South America ( Benson 1969).
In the U. S. , The cacti are most abundant in Arizona, Texas and parts of southern California and New Mexico (Bowers, Burgess, & Turner 1995).The most remarkable species of cactus in the appeal stage is gigantic sequaro (Carnegia gigantea), considered the most succulent in the U.S. (Kearny, Peebles, 1969).
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1081607/cactaceae_the_cactus_family.html?cat=32
