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Cactus family🌵
Cactaceae Juss.
サボテン科
A succulent plant family native to the New World, comprising about 1,750 species. They possess specialized organs called areoles and have leaves modified into spines. Adapted to desert environments through CAM photosynthesis, storing water in succulent stems. No native species occur in Japan; widely cultivated as ornamentals.
Key Characteristics
- ●Spines and hairs arise from specialized organs called areoles
- ●Leaves are reduced to spines; stems perform photosynthesis
- ●Stems are succulent and store water
- ●CAM photosynthesis fixes CO2 at night
- ●Flowers are bisexual with numerous petals and stamens
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Absent
Latex
Present / Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
Many
Ovary position
Inferior / Superior
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Caryophyllales > Cactaceae
Divergence Era
Paleogene (ca. 35 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Unique evolution of areoles
- ・Reduction of leaves to spines and conversion of stems into photosynthetic organs
- ・Advanced CAM photosynthesis for desert adaptation
Plants in Cactus family on this site
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