- Cactus are American plants that are covered in sharp spines, have thick, bulbous green stems and no leaves.
- Most Cactus grow in hot, dry regions but a few grow in rainforests and in cold places such as mountain tops.
- Cactus in deserts have a thick, waxy skin so as to cut water loss to the bare minimum.
- The fat stems of Cactus hold a lot of water so that they can survive in hot, dry deserts.
- The huge saguaro cactus grows only in the dry foothills and deserts of southern Arizona, southeast California and northwest Mexico.
- The stems of the jumping cholla fall off so easily they seem to jump on passers-by.
- Because of their moist stems, Cactus are called succulents.
- Cactus have spines to protect themselves from animals which will eat any kind of moist vegetation.
- Cactus have to pollinate just like every flowering plant. So every few years, many produce big colourful blooms to attract insects quickly.
- Most Cactus have very long roots to collect water from a large area. The roots grow near the surface to collect as much rainwater as possible.
- The biggest cactus is the saguaro, which can grow up to 20 m tall and 1 m thick.
Cactus Facts
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