Page Last Updated September 10, 2026
Introduction to the Cactaceae Family
Welcome to the Cactaceae, or cactus, family. This is arguably my most favorite plant family (I have many) for the often bizarre-looking plants with no leaves and solitary, showy, beautiful flowers. I also admire them for their ability to produce such amazing beauty in the most extreme arid and even hyper-arid environments where few other plants can even survive. There’s just something so special about their beauty and tenacity that I really respect.
Unfortunately, many people love cacti as much as I do, and collectors have been decimating wild populations by digging them up and bringing them home, where more often than not, they simply die. PLEASE DON’T! And if you buy a cactus, only buy it from a reputable nursery; never buy wild-collected specimens. Finally, if you see a real beauty out in the wild, take pictures and share them on iNaturalist! And if you really love the plant, return when its fruits are ripe and harvest some seeds (as long as it’s not endangered!) to start your own. And regardless of its status, still don’t take more than 10% of the seeds; please refer to my ethical wildcrafting blog for more information on ethical harvesting.
If you’re new to plant morphology, the guide below is a perfect beginner’s description if you are keen to learn how to identify the Cactaceae, or cactus family, with no need to know any scientific jargon.
Below the guide, you’ll find morphology photos to help you identify the features of the Cactaceae family, information on uses and wildlife values, and pictures of individual Cactaceae species I have photographed in North America, organized by supertribe and tribe, so you can start to see the relationships within the family as well.
Beginner’s Guide to the Cactus (Cactaceae) Family
For researchers or those wanting to learn more, further down the page is a Scientific Botanical Description and my genus-level distribution data throughout North, Central, and South America.
Leaves and Stems of the Cactus Family
The cactus family are perennial succulents that photosynthesize through their stems, with almost all genera lacking true leaves. They may be short, rounded cushion forms, tall, tree-like cacti, or epiphytes, or they may be growing in clumps, and they almost always live in arid or semi-arid environments. They possess areoles, unique structures containing sharp spines and various hairs, with most possessing numerous sharp-pointed, curved, or hooked spines.
Flowers of the Cactus Family
Flowers are mostly bisexual, containing both male (stamens) and female (ovary, stigma, and style) parts in the same flower. Cactus flowers are almost always large and showy, solitary, and sessile (not on a stalk) with radial symmetry, although some forms show bilateral symmetry. Instead of sepals and petals arranged in 2-3 whorls like most of its relatives, the cactus has numerous, often colorful tepals arranged spirally. Pollination occurs via insects, birds, or bats.
Reproductive Features of the Cactus Family
There are always numerous stamens (15-1,500+), spirally arranged in dense series and with slender, thread-like filaments. The ovary is usually inferior (inserted below the point of tepal attachment) and embedded within a vegetative structure (pericarpel). There is one terminal style with numerous spreading stigma lobes that are often very colorful.
Fruits of the Cactus Family
Cactus fruits are always berries (botanically speaking, they are actually pseudo-berries), with seeds contained within a single fleshy, succulent, dry, papery, or leathery fruit derived from a single ovary. The fruits contain numerous, often black or reddish-brown seeds.
Morphology of Cactaceae in North America
First, this is some general Cactaceae morphology, focusing on the more columnar types.
Next, since Opuntioideae is a relatively large group with some unique features, we will look at those next.
Finally, we will examine Cactaceae floral and fruit morphology (COMING SOON!).
Some Species of Cactaceae Found in North America
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cacteae Tribe
Echinocactus horizonthalonius ssp. horizonthalonius—Turk’s Head Cactus
Turk’s Head, sometimes called Devil’s Head cactus, is a short, compact barrel cactus that grows no more than about 30 cm tall, recognized by its chalky grey-green stem with 7-9 broad rounded ribs and backwards-curving spines in the areoles. It usually produces a single beautiful rose-pink to magenta flower, but this lovely one had two! It is native to the Chihuahuah desert of New Mexico, West Texas, and northern Mexico.
Ferocactus wislizeni—Fishhook Barrel Cactus
This one is a robust, classic barrel cactus that can reach well over a meter tall with a massive, heavily armed cylinder up to about 60 cm wide. It’s sometimes also called the “compass barrel” because it tends to lean noticeably toward the south or southwest, toward the sun. Apart from its large size, the 1-4 large, flattened, reddish-gray central spines with pronounced ridges that curve downward like a very sharp fishhook make it easy to identify. The flowers cluster on the top and are often orange, but I have also seen them in yellow. They are native to the southwestern USA and northern Mexico.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cereeae Tribe
Pilosocereus purpusii—Viejo (Old Man Cactus)
Viejo is an interesting cactus endemic to Mexico, primarily across Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, and Michoacán. It is a tall, tree-like columnar cactus with slender, cylindrical stems and 10-14 low, vertical ribs. The small, closely placed areoles are filled with radial spines and 1-3 shorter, stouter central spines, and they produce scattered beards of long, soft, silky white hairs seen here above the developing fruit. This one was found in a dry forest in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, specifically in Paco’s Flora and Fauna Reserve.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Echinocereeae Tribe
Carnegiea gigantea—Saguaro Cactus
The saguaro is easily the most famous columnar cactus in North America, known for its massive size, growing up to 16 m tall and ~75 cm wide. You can see how big they grow with my son and me standing in front of it! They have 12-30 prominent vertical ribs with sharp crests and bear clusters of 15-30 sharp spines in the areoles. Flowers are creamy white and open at night, where the bats feed on them and pollinate the flowers. They are native to the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, California, and northern Mexico. This one was in Mohave County, Arizona, USA.
Echinocereus dasyacanthus ssp. dasyacanthus—Texas Rainbow Hedgehog Cactus
This lovely cactus produces a single stem, or sometimes branched or clustered like this one, that usually grows 10-30 cm tall. Stems carry 12-21 low vertical ribs with closely packed areoles with 15-30+ short, straight, needlelike spines that overlap with neighboring clusters so that none of the stem is left unprotected. It gets its ‘rainbow’ name because the color varies with growing conditions and produces banded lines up the stem (most visible near the bottom of this one). Flowers are very large and often bright yellow but may vary into peach or light pink. It is native to southern New Mexico, West Texas, parts of eastern Arizona, and northern Mexico.
Echinocereus triglochidiatus ssp. triglochidiatus—Kingcup Cactus
The Kingcup cactus is easy to spot when it flowers, as it often blooms profusely and is covered with vivid scarlet-red to crimson-orange flowers that stay open for several days. It forms dense, sprawling colonies over 1 m across with hundreds of heads. Each stem is deep, dark green and grows to 10-30 cm tall. Stems have only 5-8 ribs, and the usually 3 (but 1-6) stout, heavy, curved spines also help identify it. It is native to the American Southwest, extending north into Colorado and Utah and south into Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico. This specimen was found at Blue Hole, New Mexico.
Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum—Cardón Barbón or Indian Comb
This is another large tree-like columnar cactus reaching 8-15 m tall, with a solitary woody trunk up to ~1.75 m tall and nearly 1 m wide before branching into a candelabra crown. Stems carry 10-12 broad, triangular vertical ribs separated by deep grooves (sinuses). Areoles are circular, woolly, and closely set with 8-12 stiff, grayish white radial spines with dark brown tips and 1-3 stouter dagger-like central spines that point outward. White to pinkish flowers bloom at night, attracting bats for pollination. This one was at the Lighthouse in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Hylocereeae Tribe
Acanthocereus tetragonus—Barbed Wire Cactus
This sprawling or arching shrub cactus produces roots where the columns touch the ground. Stems can reach 3-7 m long but remain relatively slender, with only 3-4 ribs that are deep. wing-like, thin ribs with wavy margins and areoles spaced 2-5 cm apart with 1-2 longer central spines and 6-8 shorter radial spines. The stiff, outward-pointing spines and the sprawling habit that forms impenetrable thickets give the plant its common name, Barbed Wire Cactus. Flowers are large and funnelform for pollination at night by moths. It is native to southern Texas and south to northern South America. This one was in Cerritos, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Opuntioideae Subfamily: Opuntieae Tribe
I know I don’t break down the Opuntioideae into tribes below, but I am here just to show you the two main tribes (there are only 3) that are both commonly found throughout North America and the American continents.
Opuntia macrorhiza—Plains Prickly Pear
Plains Prickly Pear is a low-growing opuntia, typically remaining under 30 cm tall but sprawling much wider. It produces relatively small, circular to egg-shaped cladodes (less than about 12 cm) that are light green to dull bluish-green and may develop purplish tints. Areoles are widely spaced, and spines are mostly restricted to the upper half or margins of the cladode. Flowers are showy and usually bright yellow with an orange throat. It is native to the central USA and south into northern Mexico; this one was in Anson, Texas.
Opuntioideae Subfamily: Cylindropuntieae Tribe
Cylindropuntia imbricata—Tree Cholla
This is an openly branched, tree-like cactus 1-3+ m tall supported by a woody central basal trunk and whorled branches ~8-30 cm long but only 2-3 cm wide. Stems are covered with laterally flattened tubercules that look like overlapping shingles, and when the plant dies, it leaves behind a perforated woody cylinder that is often used for making walking sticks, furniture, and crafts. Flowers are rich magenta to purple, followed by fruits that turn yellow when mature. It is native to the southwestern USA and extends south into northern and central Mexico.
Pereskiopsis porteri—Alfilerillo
Pereskiopsis porterri is a curious cactus with very thin, rounded stems that often sprawl, forming loose thickets. The key identifier is that it has deciduous leaves on its young stems, but these leaves are drought-deciduous and leave behind the photosynthetic stems. It is strictly endemic to northwestern Mexico on the Baja Peninsula and the coastal lowlands of Sinaloa. This one was in Paco’s Flora and Fauna Reserve, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Uses of the Cactaceae Family
Many cactus fruits are used as food sources (prickly pear, dragon fruit, ‘tuna’, etc.), while the young cladodes of Opuntia species are frequently eaten as a vegetable (nopal), and in Brazil the leaves of Pereskia are also widely consumed.
They are also an extremely popular horticultural plant among collectors of succulent plants, with numerous genera and species offered commercially. However, collecting them from the wild for ornamental purposes has resulted in some species becoming threatened, along with habitat loss.
In arid regions, they are often used as living fences and hederoows to mark boundaries and keep livestock in/out.
Ecosystem and Wildlife Values of the Cactaceae
In hyper-arid regions, they serve as emergency water reservoirs for herbivores, while the fleshy fruits are widely feasted on by frugivorous birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects. They also serve as critical nectar sources for pollinators, including bats, hummingbirds, and solitary bees.
In arid environments, many cacti also serve critical habitat roles, providing nests for excavators like the Gila woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) and gilded flicker (Colaptes chrysoides), screech owls (Megascops trichopsis), purple martins (Progne subis), American kestrels (Falco sparverius), and desert rodents. They provide not only nesting sites for birds and small animals, but their spines also help protect them from predators.
Taxonomy of the Cactaceae Family
The Cactaceae family has approximately 1,438–1,882 species in 130-150 genera (depending on the circumscription of generic segregates versus polymorphic complexes; Caryophyllales Network Standard, Korotkova et al. 2021; POWO). It is firmly placed in the Caryophyllales order of the core dicots, where it forms a monophyletic, succulent radiation closely allied to Anacampserotaceae, Portulacaceae, and Talinaceae. It is almost entirely restricted to the New World, with major centers of diversity in the highly endemic dry lands of Mexico, Argentina, Peru, the Bolivian Andes, and Eastern Brazil.
Phylogenomic evaluations have recently resolved the Cactaceae into six distinct, monophyletic subfamilies, reflecting progressive evolutionary grades from early-diverging, non-succulent, leafy lineages to specialized, ribbed, stem-succulent cacti.
Here are the genera broken down by subfamily and, in the case of Cactoideae, by tribe.
Genera of the Cactaceae Family
Blossfeldioideae Subfamily
The Blossfieldioideae are the earliest-diverging, most basal lineage, sometimes placed within the Cactoideae, and it consists of a single variable species endemic to the eastern Andes of Bolivia and Northwest Argentina. It is unique in the family for being functionally poikilohydric, losing 80% of its water content and shrinking flat during drought but being able to fully rehydrate when moisture returns. Plants are small, solitary, or hummock-forming geophytic succulents, the smallest cacti in the world rarely exceeding 15-20 mm across, with smooth, unsegmented stems and minute, flat areoles arranged spirally around the stem, with short hairs or tufts but no spines.
Blossfeldia (1).
Cactoideae Subfamily
The Cactoideae is the largest and most species-rich subfamily, with over 80% of all species. They range from unbranched, mini globose species to massive, columnar, tree-like forms, scandent or vining climbers, and pendulous epiphytes with photosynthesis entirely carried out by the stems with no leaves or, if present, reduced to microscopic vestigial primordia. They have areoles bearing spines but no glocids (c.f. Opuntioideae). Flowers are usually solitary and sessile, emerging from areoles or flower-bearing regions. Fruits are fleshy or dry berries. They are native to southern Canada and across the western and southern USA, Mexico, Central America, and South America, with a single disjunct species (Rhipsalis baccifera) in Africa, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka thought to be introduced by birds in prehistoric times. Since there are so many genera in this subfamily, we are going to break this one out into tribes.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cacteae Tribe
These are globose to short-cylindrical cacti that are predominantly North American (Mexican and Southwest US). They are characterized by distinct stem dimorphism (dimorphic areoles/grooves or distinct tubercles separate from ribs) and flowers borne at or near the stem apex.
Acharagma (3), Ariocarpus (8), Astrophytum (6), Aztekium (3), Coryphantha (43), Cumarinia (1), Echinocactus (2), Epithelantha (10), Ferocactus (28), Geohintonia (1), Kadenicarpus (3), Kroenleinia (1), Leuchtenbergia (1), Lophophora (4), Mammillaria (144), Mammilloydia (1), Neolloydia (3), Obregonia (1), Ortegocactus (1), Pediocactus (11), Pelecyphora (21), Rapicactus (5), Sclerocactus (27), Stenocactus (9), Strombocactus (2), Thelocactus (13), Turbinicarpus (14).
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cereeae Tribe
A massive, predominantly South American tribe of columnar tree-type cactus and globose Andean/eastern Brazilian forms. Many taxa develop specialized terminal or lateral flower-bearing structures called cephalia or pseudocephalia (e.g., Melocactus).
Acanthocalycium (7), Armatocereus (7), Arrojadoa (8), Arthrocereus (4), Aylostera (27), Borzicactus (10), Brachycereus (1), Brasilicereus (3), Browningia (11), Castellanosia (1), Cereus (~30), Cipocereus (5), Cleistocactus (26), Coleocephalocereus (10), Cremnocereus (1), Denmoza (1), Discocactus (16), Echinopsis (18-80 under revision), Espostoa (11), Espostoopsis (1), Facheiroa (4), Gymnocalycium (70), Haageocereus (7), Harrisia (18), Jasminocereus (1), Lasiocereus (2), Leocereus (1), Leucostele (13), Loxanthocereus (12), Matucana (25), Melocactus (50), Micranthocereus (9), Mila (1), Neoraimondia (2), Oreocereus (8), Pilosocereus (62), Praecereus (2 s/t as syn. of Monvillea), Pygmaeocereus (3), Rauhocereus (1), Rebutia (3), Samaipaticereus (2), Stephanocereus (1), Stetsonia (1), Trichocereus (0-7-~40, s/t as syn. of Echinopsis s.l.), Uebelmannia (4), Vatricania (1), Weberbauerocereus (8), Yavia (1), Yungasocereus (1).
Cactoideae Subfamily: Echinocereeae Tribe
A major clade of mostly North and Central American columnar giant cacti and non-columnar relatives like Echinocereus, typically featuring strongly ribbed stems and well-developed spine armaments.
Bergerocactus (1), Carnegiea (1), Cephalocereus (13), Corryocactus (16), Deamia (4), Echinocereus (85), Escontria (1), Lemaireocereus (2), Leptocereus (20), Lophocereus (2), Marshallocereus (1), Mitrocereus (1), Morangaya (1), Myrtillocactus (4), Nyctocereus (1), Pachycereus (5), Peniocereus (8), Polaskia (2), Pterocereus (1), Stenocereus (22), Strophocactus (4).
Cactoideae Subfamily: Hylocereeae Tribe
Primarily climbing, epiphytic, or sprawling climbing cacti with flattened cladodes or ribbed stems. They are renowned for their large, nocturnal, insect- and bat-pollinated flowers and edible fruits (e.g., pitahaya/dragonfruit).
Acanthocereus (15), Aporocactus (2), Disocactus (18), Epiphyllum (10), Pseudorhipsalis (5), Selenicereus (33), Weberocereus (6).
Cactoideae Subfamily: Lymanbensonieae Tribe
An early-diverging lineage of mostly cloud-forest epiphytes or Andean shrubs with highly unique, double-tubed or heavily enclosed floral structures.
Calymmanthium (1), Lymanbensonia (5).
Cactoideae Subfamily: Notocacteae Tribe
Southern South American and coastal/Atacama desert plants that are globose to small-cylindrical plants and adapted to extreme hyper-aridity, coastal fogs, or high-altitude grassland environments.
Austrocactus (10), Copiapoa (39, alternatively placed in its own monogeneric tribe), Eriosyce (66), Eulychnia (9), Frailea (20), Neowerdermannia (2), Parodia (76).
Cactoideae Subfamily: Rhipsalideae Tribe
This is a small group of mostly neotropical epiphytic mistletoe cacti, but it is also the only paleotropical tribe with a single species of Rhipsalis being the only native Cacataceae outside of the American continents, believed to have been introduced by birds long ago.
Hatiora (3), Lepismium (7), Pfeiffera (6), Rhipsalis (45), Schlumbergera (7).
Leuenbergerioideae Subfamily
The Leuenbergerioideae subfamily is another small subfamily, this one the most basal lineage sister to all remaining Cactaceae. It contains a single genus of woody tree-like species, shrubs, or climbing/scrambling lianas unique to the family in having corky bark early in development and lacking stomata on mature stems, which cannot perform photosynthesis. It also has fully developed broad alternate leaves that may have petioles or be almost sessile. Areoles are in leaf axils and bear straight or slightly recurved wood-like spines and short hairs. Flowers are large, showy, and colorful, either solitary or in cymose clusters. They are native to the neotropics centered around the Caribbean and Central America.
Leuenbergeria (8).
Maihuenioideae Subfamily
The Maihuenioideae subfamily is another small monogeneric lineage with a single genus and two species endemic to Patagonia and the southern Andes in Argentina and Chile, where it thrives in cold-temperate xeric steppes and high-altitude slopes. They are densely branched, mat- or hummock-forming dwarf shrubs with small, fleshy, persistent, needle-like or conical succulent leaves that are 2-10 mm long on short shoots. Areoles in the leaf axils have tufts of white woolly hairs and three prominent central spines. Flowers are large, solitary, and showy and may be pale yellow, white, or pinkish-yellow.
Maihuenia (2).
Opuntioideae Subfamily
The Opuntioideae are the second largest subfamily, made of a diverse array from geophytic dwarf mats to sprawling shrubs and tree-like species, but all share the unique stem structure with distinctly jointed segments called “cladodes,” and all have glochids (barbed hairs) inside their areoles that readily detach on contact. They have cylindrical to conical succulent leaves on their young shoots, but they are usually early-deciduous except in a few primitive genera like Pereskiopsis. Solitary sessile flowers emerge from areoles near the apex or margins of cladodes and are usually brightly colored and lack an elongated floral tube. They are widespread in the American continents, from Canada south to Patagonian South America.
Airampoa (4-6), Austrocylindropuntia (8-10), Brasiliopuntia (2), Consolea (10), Cumulopuntia (17), Cylindropuntia (41), Grusonia (19), Maihueniopsis (20), Miqueliopuntia (1), Opuntia (185), Pereskiopsis (6), Pterocactus (11), Punotia (1 s/t as syn. of Austrocylindropuntia), Quiabentia (2), Tacinga (11), Tephrocactus (12).
Pereskioideae Subfamily
Pereskia (10).
Key Differences From Similar Families
The Cactaceae are mostly straightforward to recognize with their lack of leaves and succulent, photosynthetic stems. However, when other families present photosynthetic stems, they can be confused.
You can easily distinguish succulent Euphorbiaceae by their milky latex, which Cactaceae rarely have (only in select species of Mammillaria). Furthermore, the spines arise from aereoles in Cactaceae but occur as paired stipular spins flanking the leaf scars in Euphorbiaceae.
Succulent Apocynaceae/Ascelpiadoideae are also sometimes confused with Cactaceae, but they too produce abundant white milky latex, and their ‘spines’ are softer tooth-like stem projections, lacking spines or forming non-areolar emergent bristles.
Scientific Botanical Description of the Cactaceae Family
Habit & Leaf Form of the Cactaceae Family
The Cactaceae are exclusively perennial stem-succulents and pachycaul woody shrubs with secondary woody growth varying from dense, fibrous xylem cylinders in arborescent forms to parenchymatous, non-fibrous, water-rich secondary xylem in dwarf globe forms. In form they range from dwarf geophytes, globose buttons, and caespitose cushions to erect columnar shrubs, clumping shrubs, arborescent candelabriform trees (up to 15–20 m tall), and pendent or climbing epiphytes and hemiepiphytes. They are primarily xerophytic and rely heavily on Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM), transitioning to C3/CAM intermediates or obligate C3 pathways in ancestral, leafy lineages.
Stems are photosynthetic, with outer surfaces that may be smooth and terete to fluted, deeply ribbed, winged, or spirally organized into distinct tubercles (podaria). Stems may be continuous and indeterminate or organized into articulated, determinate segments (cladodes or phylloclades in Opuntioideae and Rhipsalideae). Tissues are typically non-laticiferous with abundant mucilage canals and resinous ducts, though pressurized white latex occurs as a derived feature in Mammillaria subgenus Mammillaria.
Long shoots are represented by the main photosynthetic stem axes. Short shoots are represented by the areoles—specialized, indeterminate axillary buds in the axils of rudimentary or absent foliar leaves. Areoles produce multiseriate trichomes (wool/hairs), modified foliar structures (spines and, in Opuntioideae, retrorsely barbed glochids), vegetative branches, and reproductive organs (flowers).
Most do not possess any leaves at all, with the exception of persistent laminar leaves in select genera like Pereskia or succulent leaves in Maihuenioideae or possess them mostly only in juvenile form like Opuntia. When present, leaves are one-veined or pinnately veined and do not possess stipules.
Flowers of the Cactaceae Family
The Cactaceae are overwhelmingly hermaphroditic and solitary, sessile, and emerge directly from areolar short-shoot meristems laterally along the stem or terminally within specialized fertile zones. However, select lineages rarely exhibit functional unisexuality, and true inflorescences are restricted to early-diverging subfamilies (Leuenbergerioideae and Pereskioideae), which produce terminal or lateral cymose panicles or racemes. Pollination is always entomophilous, sphingophilous (nocturnal hawkmoths), ornithophilous, or chiropterophilous.
Flowers are often fragrant but may be odorless, and they are mostly actinomorphic but may be zygomorphic with a bent or S-shaped tube in ornithophilous and chiropterophilous lineages.
The floral axis is characterized by the pericarpel, an envelope that completely encloses and fuses with the inferior ovary. Because the pericarpel is derived from stem tissue, its external surface frequently mirrors vegetative shoots, bearing fleshy podaria, scale-like bracteoles, and areoles that produce wool, trichomes, bristles, or spines. Above the ovary, the pericarpel extends into an elongated, floral tube that may be short and rotate to funnelform, campanulate, or exceptionally elongated and salverform.
The perianth exhibits unique phyllotaxy, being undifferentiated into distinct calyx and corolla whorls, and instead is spiral and multiseriate, composed of 15-100+ tepals. Some outer ones may be sepaloid and serve as protective functions in the bud, while inner tepals are more petaloid, becoming larger, membranous, and brightly colored in white, cream, yellow, orange, red, magenta, violet, and green (never blue).
Androecium of the Cactaceae Family
The androecium is polystemonous, composed of numerous stamens, about 15 to 50 in reduced, dwarf, or bird-pollinated flowers to 300–1,500+ in large, bat- and sphingid-pollinated flowers. Stamens are organized into dense, multi-seriate, spirally arranged series inserted along the inner wall of the receptacle tube.
Filaments are slender, filiform, unbranched, and typically free from one another, though basally connate or clustered into indistinct series in some taxa. They are adnate to the receptacle tube for much of their length, becoming free near the throat. In many tubular and campanulate species, stamens form two distinct series: primary (basal) stamens arising often modified with thickened bases or reflexed postures to form a cover over the nectar chamber, plus secondary (throat/limb) stamens that form a broad, multiseriate funnel or ring that presents pollen directly to visitors. They may be included or exserted.
Anthers are oblong to linear, dorsifixed to basifixed, versatile or non-versatile, bilocular, and tetrasporangiate. Dehiscence is introrse to latrose, dehiscing longitudinally via continuous vertical lateral slits. They are typically cream, pale yellow, or golden-yellow and rarely reddish, pinkish, or purplish.
Gynoecium of the Cactaceae Family
The gynoecium is syncarpous, composed of 3 to 14 (rarely up to 20) fused carpels forming a solitary, unilocular ovary. In basal lineages (Leuenbergeria, Pereskia), the ovary is semi-inferior to nearly superior, partially recessed into a fleshy receptacle. In all core subfamilies, it is strictly inferior, embedded within the vegetative pericarpel.
There is a single, stout, terete, erect, terminal style that is hollow or equipped with open tissue canals; in bird- and bat-pollinated flowers, the style is exserted beyond the anther ring. Nectar secretion occurs along a glandular zone at the base of the style.
There are 3 to 14 (–20) spreading, linear to subulate stigma lobes that are dry to semi-dry, papillate, and are white, cream, and yellow to vibrant emerald-green (iconic in Echinocereus) or deep purplish-red.
Placentation is overwhelmingly parietal, with numerous ovules borne on branching, intrusive placentae running vertically along the outer walls of the locule. In early-diverging clades (Leuenbergeria, Pereskia), placentation is basal to parietal-basal. There are numerous ovules per locule, ranging from 15 to 2,000+. Ovules are bitegmic and crassinucellate and campylotropous to amphitropous or circinotropous in the Opuntioideae.
Fruit of the Cactaceae Family
Cactaceae fruits are anthocarpous pseudo-berries derived from an inferior, unilocular ovary integrated in the vegetative pericarpel. They may be fleshy, succulent, dry, papery, or leathery, and they may be indehiscent or dehiscent via basal pores, longitudinal splitting, or irregular splitting, or in rare cases exhibit cryptocarpia.
Seeds are non-endospermic with nitrivive storage in the starchy perisperm. The testa is hard and typically pigmented glossy black, matte black, or reddish-brown; rarely stramineous.
Global Distribution of the Cactaceae Family
The Cactaceae family is almost entirely endemic to the neotropics and southern North America (southern USA and Mexico). They are mostly found in arid or semi-arid climates, mainly in Central and South America; they can also be found north into southern Canada and south into Patagonian South America, as well as ascending into the high Andes in South America (>4,000 m).
However, some are tropical epiphytes living only in humid rain forests. Only a single species of Rhipsalis is native outside of the American continents, believed to have been introduced by birds in prehistoric times, where it has spread in Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Ceylon.
Distribution of the Cactaceae in the Americas
Canadian Cactaceae Genera
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cacteae Tribe
Pelecyphora (Escobaria) 1 sp. native AB, SK, MB;
Opuntioideae Subfamily in Canada
Opuntia 5 spp. native to BC, AB, SK, MB, and ON.
USA Cactaceae Genera
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cacteae Tribe in the USA
Ariocarpus 1 sp. S NAM endemic genus native to TX; Astrophytum 1 sp. native to southern TX; Coryphantha 7 spp. mostly Mexico endemic genus native to AZ, NM, and TX; Echinocactus 1 sp. a S NAM endemic genus native to CA, UT, NV, AZ, NM, OK, and TX; Epithelantha 2 spp. S NAM endemic genus native to AZ, NM, and TX; Ferocactus 6 spp. NAM endemic genus native to CA, NV, UT, AZ, NM, and TX; Lophophora 1 sp. S NAM endemic genus native to TX; Mammillaria 13 spp. native to CA, NV, UT, AZ, CO, NM, OK, and TX; Neolloydia 1 sp. S NAM endemic genus native to TX; Pediocactus 7-11 spp. W USA endemic genus of WA, OR, ID, MT, SD, WY, UT, NV, AZ, CO, and NM; Pelecyphora (Escobaria) 1 sp. native OR, CA, NV, AZ, UT, ID, MT, WY, CO, NM, ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, TX, LA, AR, IA, MN, IL; Sclerocactus 21 spp. S NAM endemic genus native to CA, NV, UT, CO, AZ, CO, NM, and TX, inc. 16 USA endemics, several of them narrow single-state endemics of UT and AZ; Thelocactus 2 spp. originally S NAM endemic genus native to TX.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cereeae Tribe in the USA
Cereus 1 sp. intro to HI; Harrisia 6 spp. native to FL, inc. 2 narrow endemics, and intro to HI; Pilosocereus 1 sp. native to FL.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Echinocereeae Tribe in the USA
Bergerocactus monospecific S NAM endemic genus native to CA; Carnegiea monospecific S NAM endemic genus native to CA and AZ; Echinocereus 27 spp. NAM endemic genus native to CA, NV, UT, CO, WY, SD, NE, KS, OK, TX, AZ, and NM; Lophocereus 1 sp. S NAM endemic genus native to SW AZ; Pachycereus 1 sp. Mexican genus native to S AZ; Peniocereus 2 spp. S NAM endemic genus native to AZ, NM, and TX; Stenocereus 1 sp. native to AZ.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Hylocereeae Tribe in the USA
Acanthocereus 1 sp. native to TX and FL and introduced to HI; Epiphyllum 1 sp. introduced to FL; Selenicereus 6 spp. native to TX and introduced to FL and HI.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Rhipsalideae Tribe in the USA
Rhipsalis 1 sp. native to FL, note that this is the only genus with a native member outside of the Americas; Schlumbergera 1 sp. intro to HI.
Opuntioideae Subfamily in the United States
Brasiliopuntia 1 sp. intro to FL; Consolea 1 sp. mostly Antilles endemic genus native to FL; Cylindropuntia 28 spp. native to CA, NV, UT, CO, NM, KS, OK, TX, including several S USA endemics; Grusonia 8 spp. NAM endemic genius native to CA, NV, UT, AZ, NM, and TX, inc. 2 SW USA endemics; Opuntia 62 spp. native and intro to all of the USA except VT, NH, and ME, and intro to HI;
Pereskioideae Subfamily in the United States
Pereskia 1 sp. intro to TX and FL.
Mexico Cactaceae Genera
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cacteae Tribe in Mexico
Acharagma 2 spp. narrow endemic genus of the Chihuahuan Desert of Coahuila and Nuevo León; Ariocarpus 7 spp. S NAM endemic genus native to NE Mexico, S to Jal, inc. 6 endemic to NE Mexico; Astrophytum 6 spp. SE NAM endemic genus native to NE Mexico and Ver, inc. 5 endemic to Mexico; Aztekium 3 spp. narrow endemic genus of Nuevo Leon; Coryphantha ~40 spp. mostly Mexican endemic genus native and almost all endemic to N+C+SW Mexico and Ver; Cumarinia monospecific endemic genus of N+SW Mexico; Echinocactus 2 spp. S NAM endemic genus native to N, SW, C Mexico, Ver, inc. 1 endemic to N Mexico; Epithelantha 10 spp. S NAM endemic genus native to NE Mexico, inc. 8 narrow Mexican endemics (mostly Coa); Ferocactus 27 spp. NAM endemic genus native to most of Mexico except the SE, and are mostly endemic to Mexico; Geohintonia monospecific narrow endemic of NE Mexico; Kadenicarpus 2 spp. narrow endemic genus of NE Mexico and Ver; Kroenleinia monospecific endemic in NE Mexico; Leuchtenbergia monospecific endemic genus of NE+SW Mexico; Lophophora 4 spp. S NAM endemic genus native to NE+SW Mexico, inc. 3 endemic NE Mexico; Mammillaria ~140 spp. native to all of Mexico, withthe vast majority endemic to Mexico; Mammilloydia monospecific endemic genus of NE Mexico; Neolloydia 4 spp. S NAM endemic genus native to NE Mexico and Ver, inc. 3 endemics; Obregonia monospecific endemic of NE Mexico; Ortegocactus monospecific endemic genus of SW Mexico; Pelecyphora (Escobaria) 11 spp. native to N+SW Mexico, inc. 5 endemic to Mexico; Rapicactus 5 spp. narrow endemic genus of NE Mexico; Sclerocactus 6 spp. S NAM endemic genus native throughout N Mexico, inc. 1 endemic NE Mexico; Stenocactus 9 spp. Mexican endemic genus of NE+C+SW Mexico, Ver; Strombocactus 2 spp. narrow endemic genus of NE Mexico; Thelocactus 13 spp. originally S. NAM endemic genus native to NE+SW Mexico, incl. 11 endemics of Mexico; Turbinicarpus 14 spp. narrow endemic genus of NE+SW Mexico.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cereeae Tribe in Mexico
Melocactus 1 sp. mostly a neoendemic genus native to S Mexico and Ver; Pilosocereus 5-6 spp. native to all of Mexico.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Echinocereeae Tribe in Mexico
Bergerocactus monospecific S NAM endemic to NW Mexico; Carnegiea monospecific S NAM endemic to N Mexico; Cephalocereus 13 spp. Mexican endemic genus native to most of Mexico except the NW; Deamia 3 spp. Mesoamerican genus native to SW+SE Mexico, Ver, with 1 endemic; Echinocereus ~50 spp. NAM endemic genus native to most of Mexico, except the SE, includes ~30 endemics; Escontria monospecific endemic genus of SW+C Mexico; Lemaireocereus 1 sp. Mesoamerican genus endemic to SW+C Mexico; Lophocereus 2 spp. S NAM genus native to NW Mexico, inc. 1 narrow endemic BCS; Marshallocereus monospecific endemic genus native to SE Mexico; Mitrocereus monospecific originally endemic to SW Mexico; Morangaya monospecific narrow endemic of BCS; Myrtillocactus 3 spp. native to most of Mexico except Chp and SE Mexico, including 2 endemics; Nyctocereus monospecific genus native to N+SW Mexico; Pachycereus 5 spp. mostly Mexican endemic genus native to all of Mexico, including 4 endemics in Mexico; Peniocereus 8 spp. S NAM endemic genus native to N+C+SW Mexico, inc. 6 endemics of Mexico; Polaskia 2 spp. Mexican endemic genus of SW+C Mexico; Pterocereus monospecific endemic of SE Mexico and Ver; Stenocereus ~20 spp. native to all of Mexico, incl. several endemics.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Hylocereeae Tribe in Mexico
Acanthocereus 12 spp. American genus that is mostly native to all of Mexico and includes 11 endemics; Aporocactus 2 spp. originally endemic to NE+C+SW Mexico, with 1 sp. endemic to Oaxaca and 1 sp. now introduced to India; Disocactus ~8 spp. native to all of Mexico, inc. 4 endemic to Mexico; Epiphyllum ~6 spp. native to Mexico exc. the NW, with 2-3 endemic to Mexico; Selenicereus ~14 spp. native to all of Mexico, including several endemics.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Rhipsalideae Tribe in Mexico
Rhipsalis 1 sp. native throughout all of Mexico—note that this is the only genus with a native member outside of the Americas.
Leuenbergerioideae Subfamily in Mexico
Leuenbergeria 1 sp. mostly neoendemic genus native to Gro, Oax.
Opuntioideae Subfamily in Mexico
Cylindropuntia 20-30 spp., many endemics, native to N+C+SW Mexico and Ver; Grusonia ~15 spp. S NAM endemic genus native to N+SW Mexico, inc. ~7 endemics; Opuntia ~100 spp. native and widespread in all of Mexico, inv. ~30 endemics; Pereskiopsis 6 spp. native throughout Mexico, inc. 5 endemic spp.
Pereskioideae Subfamily in Mexico
Pereskia 2 spp. intro SW Mexico.
Neotropical Cactaceae Genera
Blossfeldioideae Subfamily in the Neotropics
Blossfeldia is a monospecific endemic genus of Bolivia and NW Argentina.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cacteae Tribe in the Neotropics
Pelecyphora (Escobaria) 1 sp. endemic in Cuba; Mammillaria ~5 spp. native to the Bahamas, the Antilles, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Venezuela.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cereeae Tribe in the Neotropics
Acanthocalycium 7 spp. SAM endemic genus of N Argentina (4 endemics), Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, and C Brazil; Armatocereus 7 spp. SAM endemic genus of Ecuador and Peru; Arrojadoa 9 spp. narrow endemic genus of C+E Brazil; Arthrocereus 4 spp. narrow endemic genus of C+SE Brazil; Aylostera 27 spp. endemic to Bolivia and NW Argentina; Copiapoa 39 spp. narrow endemic genus of N+C Chile; Borzicactus 10 spp. SAM endemic genus of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; Brachycereus monospecific narrow endemic of the Galapagos; Browningia 11 spp. SAM endemic genus of Colombia and Peru; Castellanosia monospecific endemic genus of Bolivia and Paraguay; Cereus ~30 spp. former neoendemic genus native to Haiti, parts of the Lesser Antilles, and most of SAM exc. Chile but introduced to Ecuador, the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico, and Leeward Is.; Cipocereus 5 spp. narrow endemic genus of SE Brazil; Cleistocactus 26 spp. SAM endemic genus of Peru, Bolivia, C Brazil, N Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay; Coleocephalocereus 10 spp. narrow endemic genus of E Brazil; Cremnocereus monospecific endemic of Bolivia; Denmoza monospecific narrow endemic of NW Argentina; Discocactus 16 spp. SAM endemic genus of Brazil (except far S), Bolivia, and Paraguay; Echinopsis 18-80 spp. former SAM endemic native to Peru, Bolivia, N Chile, N Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, C+S Brazil, and intro to C Chile, Colombia; Espostoa 11 spp. former narrow endemic genus of Ecuador and Peru, now introduced to the Canary Islands; Espostoopsis monospecific narrow endemic of NE Brazil; Facheiroa 4 spp. narrow endemic genus of N+E Brazil; Gymnocalycium 70 spp. a SAM endemic genus native to Bolivia, C+S Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina; Haageocereus 7 spp. narrow endemic genus of Peru and N Chile; Harrisia 16 spp. native to the Greater Antilles, Cayman Is, C+E Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, N Argentina, and Uruguay; Jasminocereus monospecific endemic genus of the Galapagos; Lasiocereus 2 spp. narrow endemic genus of Peru; Leocereus monospecific endemic genus of N+E Brazil; Leucostele 13 spp. W SAM endemic genus of Bolivia, N+C Chile, and NW Argentina; Loxanthocereus 12 spp. narrow endemic genus of Peru; Matucana 25 spp. narrow endemic genus of Peru; Melocactus 50 spp. mostly neoendemic genus native to the Bahamas, the Antilles, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and Brazil (except S); Micranthocereus 9 spp. narrow endemic genus of E Brazil; Mila monospecific endemic genus of Peru; Neoraimondia 2 spp. SAM endemic genus of Peru and Bolivia; Oreocereus 8 spp. W SAM endemic genus native to Peru, Bolivia, N Chile, and NW Argentina; Pilosocereus ~50 spp. native to the Antilles, the Bahamas, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil (except S), Paraguay, Ecuador, and Peru; Praecereus 2 spp. (or syn. Monvillea) a neoendemic genus of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, N Argentina, Paraguay, C+S+SE Brazil, and Trinidad-Tobago; Pygmaeocereus 3 spp. narrow endemic genus of Peru; Rauhocereus monospecific narrow endemic genus of Peru; Rebutia 3 spp. W SAM endemic genus of Bolivia and NW Argentina; Samaipaticereus 2 spp. W SAM endemic genus of Peru and Bolivia; Stephanocereus monospecific narrow endemic genus of E Brazil; Stetsonia monospecific SAM endemic genus of Bolivia, C Brazil, Paraguay, and N Argentina; Trichocereus 7-40 spp. former SAM endemic genus native to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, N+C Chile, and NW Argentina, possibly elsewhere, the genus is still undergoing major revisions; Uebelmannia 4 spp. narrow endemic genus of SE Brazil; Vatricania monospecific narrow endemic genus of Bolivia; Weberbauerocereus 8 spp. W SAM endemic genus of Peru and Bolivia; Yavia monospecific W SAM endemic genus of Bolivia and NW Argentina; Yungasocereus monospecific endemic to Bolivia.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Echinocereeae Tribe in Neotropics
Brasilicereus 3 spp. narrow endemic genus of E Brazil; Corryocactus 16 spp. SAM endemic genus of Peru, Bolivia, and N Chile; Deamia 3 spp. Mesoamerican genus native to Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua (1 endemic); Lemaireocereus 1 sp. Mesoamerica genus endemic to Guatemala and Honduras; Leptocereus 20 spp. Caribbean endemic genus, mostly single-island endemics, of Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Cayman Is., and Leeward Is.; Marshallocereus monospecific endemic genus native to Honduras, El Salvador, and Costa Rica (and Mexico); Mitrocereus monospecific Mexican intro to Honduras; Myrtillocactus 2 spp. native to Guatemala (1 endemic); Stenocereus ~6 spp. native to Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Leeward Is., the Netherlands Antilles, the Venezuelan Antilles, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, Colombia, and Venezuela; Strophocactus 4 spp. SAM endemic epiphyte of Colombia, Venezuela, N+E Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Hylocereeae Tribe in the Neotropics
Acanthocereus 3 spp. mostly Mexican genus native to CAM, Cuba, Trinidad-Tobago, the Leeward and Windward Islands, the Venezuelan Antilles, Colombia, and Venezuela; Disocactus 12+ spp. native throughout all of CAM, including 8+ CAM endemics; Epiphyllum ~6 spp. native to CAM, tropical SAM to Bolivia, NE Argentina, and introduced to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and the Lesser Antilles; Pseudorhipsalis 5 spp. neoendemic genus of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, N Brazil, and Jamaica; Selenicereus ~14 spp. native to the Antilles, the Bahamas, CAM, and tropical SAM S to Bolivia, NE Argentina, and S Brazil; Weberocereus 6 spp. neoendemic genus of Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador (1 endemic).
Cactoideae Subfamily: Lymanbensonieae Tribe in the Neotropics
Calymmanthium monospecific narrow endemic genus of Peru; Lymanbensonia 5 spp. W SAM endemic genus of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Notocacteae Tribe in the Neotropics
Austrocactus 7 spp. S SAM endemic genus native to N Argentina and C Chile; Eriosyce 66 spp. SAM endemic genus of Peru, N+C Chile, and Argentina; Eulychnia 9 spp. narrow endemic genus of Peru and N+C Chile; Frailea 20 spp. SAM endemic genus of Colombia, Bolivia, C+S Brazil, Paraguay, NE Argentina, and Uruguay; Neowerdermannia 2 spp. W SAM endemic genus of Peru, Bolivia, N Chile, and NW Argentina; Parodia 76 spp. former SAM endemic genus native to Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay, S Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.
Cactoideae Subfamily: Rhipsalideae Tribe in the Neotropics
Hatiora 3 spp. narrow endemic genus of E+S Brazil; Lepismium 7 spp. SAM endemic genus of Bolivia, N Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil (except N Brazil); Pfeiffera 6 spp. W SAM endemic genus of Bolivia and NW Argentina; Rhipsalis ~43 spp. native to CAM (exc. El Salvador), the Antilles, and tropical SAM to N Argentina (exc. N Chile), with one species found native in Africa, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka, the only cactus native outside the American continents; Schlumbergera 7 spp. former narrow endemic of SE Brazil.
Leuenbergerioideae Subfamily in the Neotropics
Leuenbergeria 8 spp. originally a neoendemic genus native to CAM (exc. Belize), Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the Venezuelan Antilles, Colombia, and Venezuela, inc. 4 narrow endemics of the Antilles, 1 endemic to E Brazil, and now introduced to El Salvador, Trinidad-Tobago, and the Leeward and Windward Islands.
Maihuenioideae Subfamily in the Neotropics
Maihuenia 2 spp. SAM endemic genus of C+S Chile, and NW+S Argentina.
Opuntioideae Subfamily in the Neotropics
Airampoa 4-6 spp. SAM endemic genus native to Peru, Bolivia, N Chile, and NW Argentina; Austrocylindropuntia 8-10 spp. originally SAM endemic to the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and NW Argentina and is now introduced elsewhere; Brasiliopuntia 2 spp. former SAM endemic genus native to Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and N Argentina, and introduced to Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras; Consolea 10 spp. mostly Antilles endemic genus native to the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, Cayman Is, Leeward Is, Puerto Rico, and Turks-Caicos Is; Cumulopuntia 17 spp. W SAM endemic genus of Peru, Bolivia, N+C Chile, and NW Argentina; Cylindropuntia 2 spp., inc. 1 native to the Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru, and 1 sp. intro to Ecuador, Bolivia, N Chile, and N Argentina; Maihueniopsis 19 spp. SAM endemic genus native to Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina; Miqueliopuntia monospecific endemic genus in N Chile; Opuntia 25-35 spp. native to CAM (excl. Belize), the Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil (excl. N), Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay; Pereskiopsis 2 spp. native to Bolivia, Guatemala, and Honduras; Pterocactus ~6 spp. S SAM endemic genus of Argentina and S Chile, rest in the Patagonian region; Punotia monospecific endemic to Bolivia and Peru; Quiabentia 2 spp. SAM endemic genus of Bolivia, Paraguay, N Argentina, and E Brazil; Tacinga 11 spp. N SAM endemic genus of Venezuela and Brazil (excl. S); Tephrocactus 12 spp. SAM endemic genus of Bolivia, N Argentina, and N Chile.
Pereskioideae Subfamily in the Neotropics
Pereskia 10 spp. former neoendemic genus native to Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, C+E+S Brazil, Peru (1 endemic), Bolivia (2 endemics), Paraguay, and NE Argentina, and introduced to Ecuador, Guatemala, SW Mexico, the Antilles, and Bermuda.
Patagonian South America Cactaceae Genera
Cactoideae Subfamily: Cereeae Tribe in Patagonia
Cereus 1 sp. native to S Argentina; Gymnocalycium 1 sp. native to S Argentina;
Cactoideae Subfamily: Notocacteae Tribe in Patagonia
Austrocactus 6-8 spp. S SAM endemic genus native to Patagonia, including at least 1 endemic; Eriosyce 1 sp. SAM endemic genus native to S Argentina; Parodia 1 sp. native to S Argentina, but may be N of this zone.
Maihuenioideae Subfamily in Patagonia
Maihuenia 2 spp. SAM endemic genus native to Patagonia.
Opuntioideae Subfamily in Patagonia
Maihueniopsis 4 spp. SAM endemic genus native to Patagonia, inc. 1 endemic; Opuntia 1 sp. native to S Argentina, but may be outside the limit of this region; Pterocactus ~7 spp. S SAM endemic genus of S Argentina and S Chile native, inc. 5 endemic to the region.
Additional Information and References
- Willis, Lyrae (Unpublished). Plant Families of North America. This is where all of the family descriptions come from. Below should be most of my references for this, along with my own personal observations throughout North America.
- Canadensys: Acadia University, Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre, University of Toronto Mississauga, University of British Columbia. http://data.canadensys.net/explorer (accessed 2020 – current)
- FNA 1993+. Flora of North America. https://floranorthamerica.org/Main_Page. Accessed 2022-current.
- Hernández-Hernández, T., et al. (2014). A time-calibrated mega-tree of the cacti: Evaluating methods for large-scale supermatrix analyses. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
- iNaturalist.org 2020+. https://www.inaturalist.org/. Accessed 2020-current. If you like plants or nature in general, please join the iNaturalist community and start sharing your observations with others. The data we track is invaluable for scientists like me wanting to track population changes over time.
- Korotkova, N., et al. (2021). Cactaceae at Caryophyllales.org—THE authoritative source for all things Cactaceae
- Naturalista: CONABIO http://www.naturalista.mx (Accessed 2020–2022).
- Neotropikey: Milliken, W., Klitgård, B., & Baracat, A. eds. 2009+. Neotropikey: Interactive key and information resources for flowering plants of the Neotropics. www.kew.org/neotropikey.com (accessed 2020 – current).
- Patagonia Wildflowers: Wildflower Identification Site. https://patagoniawildflowers.org/ Accessed throughout the fall of 2020.
- POWO 2019+. Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet: http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/. Accessed 2020-current.
- Stevens, P. F. 2001+. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 14, July 2017 [more or less continuously updated since]. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/
- USDA, NRCS. 2020+. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 2 June 2020). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC, USA; accessed 2020-present.
- Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. (1992). The Families of Flowering Plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 2nd May 2020. delta-intkey.com. Accessed spring through fall of 2020.
- WFO (2022+): World Flora Online. Published on the Internet: http://www.worldfloraonline.org. Accessed Spring 2022 – current
Copyright Information
The information and the photos on this site are free to use for educational purposes, with proper attribution. For other uses, please contact me first.
You can cite this site as Willis, Lyrae (2020+). Lyrae’s Nature Blog – Plant Families of North America. https://lyraenatureblog.com/
