I have no idea

If you have a cactus plant and need help identifying it, this is the place to post it.
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Nic23
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2017 12:36 pm
Location: England - The East Midlands

I have no idea

Post by Nic23 »

Hey guys this is my first post here,
I brought this unusual guy from my local shop (Tesco) and have wondered about what it is since, I believe it is a cacti because it has a number of small spines on it (you should be able to see these I the photos) but that is as far as I have got on identifying it on my own. It kinda looks similar to Austrocylindropuntia verschaffeltii
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(^ This is a photo I found on Google images)
but mine seems more of a flat leaf like body than the stems of this? And much smaller,
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I have measured the height in this picture in case that helps
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The little nobbles are - well were - very fragile which is why in the photo below there are some spots where they used to be attached
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I may be well off the mark with the Austrocylindropuntia verschaffeltii but I am new to this and I've found that identifying my (steadily) growing collection of plants was and is harder than I thought it would be,
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Many thanks Nic :)
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Nic
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Location: Albion California zone 9

Re: I have no idea

Post by Nic »

It is opuntia monacantha monstrose, though it may have the capacity to become variegated since many o monacantha monstrose are variegated and it may be from a commercially produced plant that was variegated and grew some non variegated arms that were then propagated.
There is no cactus you can't eat, but you just might regret it if you eat the wrong one.
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ElieEstephane
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Re: I have no idea

Post by ElieEstephane »

Nic wrote:It is opuntia monacantha monstrose, though it may have the capacity to become variegated since many o monacantha monstrose are variegated and it may be from a commercially produced plant that was variegated and grew some non variegated arms that were then propagated.
Apparently the new wave of these cacti in nurseries are non variegated. I have several from different sources and put them in full blazing sun and they stayed green. They're much better looking non variegated if you ask me.
Here's an example of one of the pots.
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There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a) :mrgreen:
Nic23
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Location: England - The East Midlands

Re: I have no idea

Post by Nic23 »

Thanks for the help guys! I agree with you and I'm very impressed with how quick you answered,
Nic :)
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Nic
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Re: I have no idea

Post by Nic »

I agree with the non variegation part, I just added that since I have seen non variegates of o monocantha monstrose identified as variegates. I have both variegates and non variegates, but my non variegate does not seem as monstrose as most o monacantha monstrose, but has more typical opuntia growth.
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There is no cactus you can't eat, but you just might regret it if you eat the wrong one.
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Nic
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Re: I have no idea

Post by Nic »

You can see it on the left while the variegate is at the bottom, some of the new growth occurred inside a couple years ago and appears more like the typical monstrose. I too like my non variegate better.
There is no cactus you can't eat, but you just might regret it if you eat the wrong one.
Nic23
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2017 12:36 pm
Location: England - The East Midlands

Re: I have no idea

Post by Nic23 »

Yeah, from looking at your picture I think that I also like the non variegate better, yours looks larger than mine, do you have an estimate about how tall it is? I am going to research more information in it soon and in general about other optunias as it's always good to learn about new/different plants :)
AnalogDog
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Re: I have no idea

Post by AnalogDog »

Just curious, what makes his plant monstrose? I ask as I got a Mammillaria gracilis fragilis monstrose, and I can not figure out what is monstrose about it.
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ElieEstephane
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Re: I have no idea

Post by ElieEstephane »

AnalogDog wrote:Just curious, what makes his plant monstrose? I ask as I got a Mammillaria gracilis fragilis monstrose, and I can not figure out what is monstrose about it.
These are not monstrose in the sense of the word but the have a blind terminal meristem so they grow out of every possible growth point.
There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a) :mrgreen:
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