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I can't seem to find any photo of cacti seedlings in habitat. Anything ranging from germimation to a year old maybe. Of course they are small but someone is bound to have taken a photo of a seedling in a crack or at the base of a mother plant...
Anyone got those?

I got some photos of small seedling, just give me some time to find those. Consider that even small globular cacti are hard to spot in habitats if no bright flowers on them. In addition small seedlings have to be shaded by grass or rocks, other cacti to survive in first years of life.
Here is one under that grass leaf in the center of the image.
Here is another one, Opuntia I think.

Thee Opuntia seedlings above.


These are 2 - 3 years old I guess. Maybe the smallest 2 I've seen. Upper edge of the photo.

Funny thing about cacti is that they often need to be in manure to germinate(this being the case with saguaro, pachycereys, stenocereus, - guano,...etc )

7george wrote:I got some photos of small seedling, just give me some time to find those. Consider that even small globular cacti are hard to spot in habitats if no bright flowers on them. In addition small seedlings have to be shaded by grass or rocks, other cacti to survive in first years of life.

41ed9dff2b.jpg Here is one under that grass leaf in the center of the image.

SAM_0092.JPG
Here is another one, Opuntia I think.

SAM_0012.JPG


Thee Opuntia seedlings above.


These are 2 - 3 years old I guess.
July 2011 68.jpg
Maybe the smallest 2 I've seen. Upper edge of the photo.

Just what i had in mind! Thanks George.
It would be very easy for any animal or human to step on seedlings without ever noticing

Depends on the species

Not all seedlings are visible above ground when small, some growing sunk into mosses etc for protection from desiccation. For instance some of the Thelocephala's (Eriosyce) in Chile initially grow under a cover of quartz sand which acts like the "windows" on Lithops, letting enough light through for photosynthesis until they are large enough to appear above ground. The larger plants also are pulled below ground by their contractile roots in the dry season and then covered with windblown dust.

These pictures were from an exceptionally wet year in Chile, normally all these small plants would be below ground and invisible. In some years only their flowers would appear above ground. People only photograph plants they can see.
RMF picture.
"Funny thing about cacti is that they often need to be in manure to germinate (this being the case with saguaro, pachycereys, stenocereus, - guano,...etc )"

Not sure it's the manure that would be important. More likely it was an indication the seed has passed through an animal or birds gut where the stomach acids break down the germination inhibitors in the seed?

I think it was, something about needing fertile soil to grow or something. This is coming from that attenborough BBC host however.
Also, your photos made want the plant....

amazing! <3