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Cool Cacti
Tall ones
Round ones
Small ones
Flat ones
Ones that grow on trees
Ones with leaves
Cactus flowers
A spiny gallery
Grow cacti
Things to avoid
Where do cacti live?
What makes cacti special?
Super Succulents
Leaf succulents
Large ones – agave
Small ones – lithops
Stem succulents
Caudex succulents
Succulent flowers
Those names
Puzzle
The large prickly pear cacti (Opuntias) have many flat pads that are joined together.
They grow so quickly that they can be used as a living fence. They are also sometimes grown for tortoise food. Tortoises must have very tough mouths to be able to enjoy a meal of cactus!
All opuntias have an additional defence – small hooked spines (called glochids) which come off when the cactus is touched. If you get these in your fingers try sticky tape to remove them.
Opuntias have beautiful flowers. They might be yellow, orange or red.
Not all opuntias have large pads, some are much smaller with round stems.
There is more than one plant in this picture – how many can you see?
Some of these small opuntias live in Patagonia, in the most southerly part of South America. This is the furthest south any cactus can grow.
Some opuntias have large tap-roots – in the wild the plant can hardly be seen, except when it flowers, as most of it is underground.
