Prickly and completely impregnable. Rarely bloom and slowly grow. All this can be said about the flower of the cactus, which many of us so fond of. And why did people love him? Most likely, for his unpretentiousness. Although, perhaps for its uniqueness and exoticism. After all, it is not cornflower or chamomile, which grows everywhere in our field or in meadows.
Many people believe that the birthplace of cactus flowers is the deserts of Africa or Asia. But, adhering to this opinion, they are deeply mistaken. In this article, we'll figure out where the cactus comes from and what conditions of life are considered natural for him.
The native land of a cactus
At all, the hot African deserts became the birthplace of the cactus. Like the other continents, islands and continents, the cactus was brought to Africa from the New World by birds that constantly migrate.
About 36 million years ago, cacti first appeared in the Americas. And the last refuge for these miracle plants was Europe. But we learned about the thorn plants even later. And then, thanks to commerce - cacti massively began to bring us from Madagascar and Sri Lanka for sales.
Recently, thanks to many breeders, especially in this case, scientists from Holland have succeeded, hundreds of new species of cacti have been hatched, including those that have not become prickly. Now you can meet completely unexpected specimens.
The most common cacti that have taken root around the world and, it can be said, overcame it, the opuntia are considered. This species perfectly adapts to any conditions of the new habitat. Opuntiae do not occur except in Antarctica. But, for example, the inhabitants of the Crimea such cacti are well known, and how wildly wild a species is.
But now you know for sure that the homeland of such indoor plants as a cactus is America.