Brief History of Cacti

Fossil evidence that the cactus has been a part of human diet for more than 9,000 years. The first cacti were introduced to Europeans by Christopher Columbus in the middle of the 15th century. In the 17th century, the plant was studying a fascination and interest in cacti dramatically peaked. The cactus got its name from Carolus Linnaeus, botanist, who created a universal system of plant names in Latin and Greek. His first choice for the prickly plant was the Greek word "kaktos", meaning thistle. The English translation of this word is "cactus." There are over 2,500 species of cactus recognized today. Although people have taken cactus seeds all over the world, these exotic plants originating in America.

Aztec Indians founded the capital of their empire in a place where they saw an eagle sitting atop a large cactus. This scene is now on the flag of Mexico. Native Americans had a myriad of uses for the cactus, many were ceremonial. Cactus was used to start and stop the rain or wind, to assist with funeral, or even to place curses. Native Americans used cacti for the manufacture of arrows, shampoo, jewelry, brushes, wine, and face painting. They did the fruit and meat cooked in many cacti a foundation of their diet, and used the fibers of agave plants to make clothing, mats, bags, baskets, sandals, rope, twine, bracelets, musical instruments, saddle pads, blankets, and even paper.

Cactus used as sources of not only food, drink and medicine but do sealants, caulking, building materials, and toys as well. One use is to produce Cochineal, natural red dye used in the cosmetics industry to make lipstick. This was the color of a colored uniforms of the British army, serving them the name "Redcoats." A type of cactus, was prickly pear (Opuntia), used for cattle feed. In Australia, ranches planted for this purpose - the place was so successful that it was an area the size of Connecticut.

Cacti are stem succulents, a family of plants that have specialized anatomy allows them to survive severe drought by storing water in fleshy tissue of their stems, leaves and roots. To be classified as a cactus, a copy must meet four requirements: It must be a perennial, it must be an unranked (which has a two-leaved embryo), it should produce single-celled fruit, and it must have an areole, the unique characteristic of the cactus varieties. The areole is a modified auxiliary bud, from which all growth takes place, including side branches, flowers and branches. Cacti can be further divided into two categories: desert and rainforest.

Water is stored in the stem of the cactus, aided by flexible ribs that can expand and contract according to the amount of intake and use. Like the ribs, and stem cells, helping at the foot of cactus shade from the sun and protect them from animals that are trying to gain access to the facility water supply. Some cacti store up to 1,000 liters of water, which makes them a valuable resource in their often dry climate. Although their model is often as short as one day, cactus flowers are colorful and beautiful.

At the evolutionary level, cacti are a relatively new development. But with over twenty species on the endangered list - more than any other plant family - their value and beauty have proved to be unique and lasting.