Aster alpinus

Aster alpinus (Alpine aster) is an ornamental plant native to the mountains of Europe (including the Alps), with a subspecies native to Canada and the United States. It is a perennial forb having purple, pink or blue flowers belonging to the genus Aster.

It grows to be about 6-12 inches (15–30 cm). The bloom color may be pink, violet/lavender, dark purple/black, or white/near white and may bloom in late spring/early summer or, occasionally, midsummer. In the UK this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It grows very slowly in clay, silt, loam, silty clay, sandy clay etc. types of soil. Its minimum pH Scale is 6 and maximum pH Scale is 7.5. It grows erectly in a 'single crown' form.

It does better in generally cooler climates. Usually it is adapted to clay, silt, loam, silty clay, sandy clay, clay loam, silt loam, sandy loam, silty clay loam and sandy clay loam soils, and prefers low fertility. The plant can tolerate only a minimum temperature of -28°C / -18.4F after the occurrence of cell damage. It can survive medium heat of fire and requires at least 90 frost free days for proper growth. It is herbaceous and attractive to bees, butterflies, and birds.

Xanthisma coloradoense

Xanthisma coloradoense (syn. Aster coloradoensis, Machaeranthera coloradoensis) is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Colorado tansyaster. It is native to Colorado and Wyoming in the United States.
This cushion plant is a perennial herb growing from a taproot and branching caudex. It grows up to 14 centimeters tall, with several to many thick, hairy stems. The hairy leaves are lance-shaped to spatula-shaped and the edges are lined with large, sharp teeth tipped with bristles. The inflorescence is a solitary flower head with narrow, white-tipped phyllaries. It contains pink or purple ray florets up to 1.5 centimeters long and many disc florets. The fruit may be nearly a centimeter long including its pappus.
There were previously two varieties of this species, but these subtaxa are no longer recognized.

This plant grows in mountains, often in an alpine climate. Habitat types include grassland, pinyon-juniper woodland, and alpine fellfield. It grows in open areas. There is often little vegetative cover and the terrain is rocky. Associated species in the habitat may include pines Pinus spp., shrubs such as Cercocarpus montanus and Chrysothamnus spp., other plants such as Astragalus spp., Erigeron spp., Potentilla spp., Festuca spp., and Elymus spp., and lichens such as members of genus Xanthoparmelia. It can be found growing with some rare species, including Astragalus molybdenus.

Threats to this species are not well known because the plant has not been studied enough yet.Potential threats include recreational activity such as off-road vehicle use, invasive species, grazing and trampling by livestock, and energy development, particularly wind power.

Aster scaber

Aster scaber is a perennial herb of the Compositae family from Eurasia. It is frequently found in wild mountain regions of Korea, eastern Russia, China and Japan.
Aster scaber is a perennial plant that thrives in the dry mountain ranges of Korea. It is known for its distinctive odor and taste, and is frequently used in cuisine. Known among locals for its medicinal use, studies show it contains many beneficial compounds. It is also commonly referred to as 'Chamchwi' or 'Chwinamul' by the Korean locals.

Aster scaber is native to Eurasia, which includes eastern Russia, China, Japan, and Korea. It is actively cultivated in temperate regions of Korea for varying uses.

Aster scaber is found in woods and thickets. Low hills and mountains frequently harbor its growth. Forest clearings and warm temperate areas suit it well. Moist soil and full sun conditions are ideal for A. scaber Thunb. It can be cultivated in lightly sandy, loamy, or clay soils. Adequately drained soil is needed. It cannot grow in the shade.

Aster scaber grows up to 1.2 meters (4 ft). Its stems stand tall. Its hermaphrodite flowers bloom between August to October. Its seeds ripen between September to November. Insect pollinators such as bees and flies aid pollen exchange. It is capable of self-fertilization. The palmate venation leaves are green and Cordate-shaped. Its edges are serrated; jagged and resemble saw blades. Trichome can be found all over its surface.

Alpinia zerumbet

Alpinia zerumbet, commonly known as shell ginger, is a perennial species of ginger native to East Asia. They can grow up to 8 to 10 ft (2.4 to 3.0 m) tall and bear colorful funnel-shaped flowers. They are grown as ornamentals and their leaves are used in cuisine and traditional medicine. They are also sometimes known as the pink porcelain lily, variegated ginger or butterfly ginger.

Native to eastern Asia, this plant is a rhizomatous, evergreen tropical perennial that grows in upright clumps 8 to 10 ft (2.4 to 3.0 m) tall in tropical climates. It bears funnel-formed flowers. Flowers have white or pink perianths with yellow labella with red spots and stripes.[3] There are three stamens, but only one has pollen. There is one pistil. The fruit is globose with many striations. In more typical conditions, it reaches 4 to 8 ft (1.2 to 2.4 m) feet tall in the green house, and 3 to 4 ft (0.91 to 1.22 m) feet tall, as a house plant.

The plant's long leaf blades are still used for wrapping zongzi. In Okinawa, Japan, A. zerumbet is known in the local dialect as sannin, or in Japanese as getto. Its leaves are sold as herbal tea and are also used to flavour noodles and wrap mochi rice cakes. Its tea has hypotensive, diuretic and antiulcerogenic properties. Decoction of leaves has been used during bathing to alleviate fevers.[citation needed]. The leaves and rhizomes have been proven effective against HIV-1 integrase and neuraminidase enzymes,[5] and has also shown anti-diabetic effect through inhibitions of formation of advanced glycation end products.[6] Besides, the antioxidant activities of different parts of Alpinia zerumbet has already been reported.

Durum

Durum wheat or macaroni wheat (Triticum durum or Triticum turgidum subsp. durum) is the only tetraploid species of wheat of commercial importance that is widely cultivated today. It was developed by artificial selection of the domesticated emmer wheat (like emmer, durum wheat is awned) strains formerly grown in Central Europe and the Near East around 7000 BC, which developed a naked, free-threshing form. Durum in Latin means "hard", and the species is the hardest of all wheats. Its high protein content, as well as its strength, make durum good for special uses, the most well-known being pasta, which in Italy is exclusively made from durum wheat.

Durum wheat is used extensively in breadmaking. However, it is unusual in that, despite very high protein content, it is low in desirable gluten needed to form a glutinous web necessary for bread to rise. As a result, although 100 percent durum wheat breads do exist, such as pagnotte di Enna or "rimacinato" bread from Sicily, as well as others, in most instances bread doughs contain only a portion of durum wheat and are supplemented substantially with commercial white flours, often those higher in gluten necessary to offset the poor gluten contribution of durum flour. When durum flour is used as the sole flour in bread, substantial additions of isolated wheat gluten are necessary for rising to occur. Without it, 100 percent durum wheat breads are often heavy, with very close gr

Durum wheat is a tetraploid wheat, having 28 chromosomes, unlike hard red winter and hard red spring wheats, which are hexaploid and have 42 chromosomes each.

Durum wheat originated through intergeneric hybridization and polyploidization involving two diploid grass species: T. urartu (2n = 2x = 14, AA genome) and a B-genome diploid related to Aegilops speltoides (2n = 2x = 14, SS genome) and is thus an allotetraploid species.

Einkorn wheat

Einkorn wheat (from German Einkorn, literally "single grain") can refer either to the wild species of wheat, Triticum boeoticum, or to the domesticated form, Triticum monococcum. The wild and domesticated forms are either considered separate species, as here, or as subspecies of T. monococcum. Einkorn is a diploid species of hulled wheat, with tough glumes ('husks') that tightly enclose the grains. The cultivated form is similar to the wild, except that the ear stays intact when ripe and the seeds are larger.


Einkorn wheat is one of the earliest cultivated forms of wheat, alongside emmer wheat (T. dicoccum). Grains of wild einkorn have been found in Epi-Paleolithic sites of the Fertile Crescent. It was first domesticated approximately 7500 BC (7050 BC ≈ 9000 BP), in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) or B (PPNB) periods. Evidence from DNA finger-printing suggests einkorn was domesticated near Karaca Dağ in southeast Turkey, an area in which a number of PPNB farming villages have been found. Its cultivation decreased in the Bronze Age, and today it is a relict crop that is rarely planted, though it has found a new market as a health food. It remains as a local crop, often for bulgur (cracked wheat) or as animal feed, in mountainous areas of France, Morocco, the former Yugoslavia, Turkey and other countries. It often survives on poor soils where other species of wheat fail.

Alopecurus carolinianus

Alopecurus carolinianus is a species of grass known by the common names Carolina foxtail and tufted foxtail.
It is native to much of North America, including most of the United States and western Canada. It may be an introduced species in many areas, however. It is most common in moist areas.
This is an annual bunchgrass forming tufts of erect stems up to about half a meter tall. The leaves are 8 to 15 centimeters in maximum length. The inflorescence is dense, cylindrical, and only a few centimeters long. It blooms in yellow to bright orange anthers.

Alopecurus pratensis

Alopecurus pratensis, known as the meadow foxtail or the field meadow foxtail, is a perennial grass belonging to the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Europe and Asia.
This common plant is found on grasslands, especially on neutral soils. It is found on moist, fertile soils, but avoids waterlogged, light or dry soils. The species forms dense swards leading to low botanical diversity.
This species is widely cultivated for pasture and hay, and has become naturalised in many areas outside of its native range, including Australia and North America.

It flowers from April until June - one of the earliest grasses to do so. Any survey work carried out in mid-summer may miss the grass as a result of this.

It can grow to a height of about 110 centimetres (43 in). The stem is erect and hard at the shaft,the sheathes being smooth and cylindrical. The leaves are about 5 millimetres (0.20 in) wide and hairless. Meadow foxtail has a cylindrical inflorescence with glumes about 5–10 millimetres (0.20–0.39 in) wide and spikelets about 4–6 millimetres (0.16–0.24 in) long.

The ligule is 1–2.5 millimetres (0.039–0.098 in) long, with a slightly tattered top.

Arundo donax

Arundo donax, Giant Cane, is a tall perennial cane growing in damp soils, either fresh or moderately saline. Other common names include Carrizo, Arundo, Spanish cane, Colorado River Reed, Wild cane, and Giant reed.
Arundo donax is native to eastern and southern Asia, the Mediterranean Basin, and probably also parts of Africa and southern Arabian Peninsula. It has been widely planted and naturalised in the mild temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of both hemispheres (Herrera & Dudley 2003), especially in the Mediterranean, California, the western Pacific and the Caribbean. It forms dense stands on disturbed sites, sand dunes, in wetlands and riparian habitats.

Arundo donax generally grows to 6 metres (20 ft), in ideal conditions it can exceed 10 metres (33 ft), with hollow stems 2 to 3 centimetres (0.79 to 1.18 in) diameter. The leaves are alternate, 30 to 60 centimetres (12 to 24 in) long and 2 to 6 centimetres (0.79 to 2.36 in) wide with a tapered tip, grey-green, and have a hairy tuft at the base. Overall, it resembles an outsize common reed (Phragmites australis) or a bamboo (Subfamily Bambusoideae).

Arundo donax flowers in late summer, bearing upright, feathery plumes 40 to 60 centimetres (16 to 24 in) long, that are usually seedless or with seeds that are rarely fertile. Instead, it mostly reproduces vegetatively, by underground rhizomes. The rhizomes are tough and fibrous and form knotty, spreading mats that penetrate deep into the soil up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) deep (Alden et al., 1998; Mackenzie, 2004). Stem and rhizome pieces less than 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long and containing a single node readily sprouted under a variety of conditions (Boose and Holt, 1999). This vegetative growth appears to be well adapted to floods, which may break up individual A. donax clumps, spreading the pieces, which may sprout and colonise further downstream (Mackenzie 2004).

Arundo donax (L.) is a tall, perennial C3 grass species belongs to the subfamily Arundinoideae of the Poaceae family. The hollow stems, 3 to 5 cm thick, have a cane-like appearance similar to bamboo. Mature stands can reach a height up to 8 m. Stems produced during the first growing season are unbranched and photosynthetic. It is an asexually reproducing species due to seed sterility.

It needs to be established by vegetative propagation, due to a lack of viable seed production. Underground it produces an extensive network of large, but short rhizomes like bulbs, and fibrous tap roots. In the Mediterranean, where a temperate climate is characterized by warm and dry summer and mild winter, giant reed new shoots emerge around March, growing rapidly in June – July and producing stems and leaves. From late July the lower leaves start to dry, depending to seasonal temperature patterns. Crop drying accelerates during autumn when anthesis occurs from the beginning of October to the end of November. In this phonological stage moisture contents fall significantly. In winter-time giant reed stops its growth because of low temperatures and regrowth occurs in the following springtime. In Central Europe giant reed behaves as an annual energy crop for the low soil temperatures and poor freeze tolerance lack of the rhizomes. The base growth temperature reported for giant reed is 7°C, and a maximum cut-off is at 30°C. It has a high photosynthetic capacity, associated with absence of light saturation. Carbon dioxide exchange rates is high compared to other C3 and C4 species. Under natural condition, the maximum CO2 uptake ranged between 19.8 and 36.7 µmol m−2 s−1, depending on irradiance, leaf age, and it is regulated by leaf conductance.

Setaria verticillata

Setaria verticillata is a species of grass known by the common names Bristly foxtail and hooked bristlegrass. It is native to Europe, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It is a hardy bunchgrass which grows in many types of urban, cultivated, and disturbed habitat. It is a weed of many types of agricultural crops, growing in vineyards and fields. Herbicide-resistant strains have been noted.

This is an annual grass with decumbent or erect stems growing up to a meter long. The leaf blades are up to 25 centimeters long and have a long sheath around the stem. The inflorescence is a dense panicle up to 15 centimeters long which tapers at both ends. It contains many small spikelets and bristles. The bristles have tiny backwards-pointing barbs that help them hook onto clothing or animal fur, facilitating their dispersal.
Seeds of the grass are used to make beer in South Africa and porridge in Namibia.They have been used as a famine food in India.

Tillandsia recurvata

Tillandsia recurvata, commonly known as Ball Moss, is a flowering plant (not a true moss) that grows upon larger host plants. It grows well in areas with low light, little airflow, and high humidity, which is commonly provided by southern shade trees, often the Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana). It is not a parasite like mistletoe, but an epiphyte like its relative Spanish moss.

Tillandsia recurvata derives mainly physical support and not nutrition from its host; it photosynthesizes its own food, receiving water vapor from the air. It obtains nitrogen from bacteria, and other minerals largely from blown dust. Though not a harmful parasite in the same sense as plants such as mistletoes that feed on the sap of the host, Ball Moss may compete with a host tree for sunlight and some nutrients, and by restricting available surface area for new branch sprouts; however, except on stressed host trees (e.g., in some urban settings) it rarely has a noticeable effect on growth or health.

In habit, Tillandsia recurvata tends to form a spheroid ranging in size from a golf ball to a soccer ball. Most seedlings germinate on tiny branches and less often on vertical bark of tree hosts, which has been suggested to indicate that local spread of Ball Moss is mainly by seeds sprouting from bird droppings on stems of shrubs and trees. Rival authorities suggest that wind is the main agent of seed dispersal.[3] Mature seeds have no apparent adhesive on the exterior, and very little nutrient supply to support sprouting, but, like many other epiphyte seeds, they are borne plentifully and are armed with fine, straight hairs that could well adhere to wet or clinging surfaces, such as rough bark.

In fact, as shown in the accompanying photograph, they even grow plentifully on fences and telegraph wires, together with occasional other species.
Ball Moss is sensitive to freezing, particularly when moist.

Ball Moss is indigenous to the warmer regions of the Americas; it ranges from the southern United States to northern Argentina and Chile. The northernmost limit of its natural occurrence is coastal Georgia (where it is listed as a State "Special Concern" species), although it has been introduced into coastal South Carolina on landscaping trees. It has been reported in nature from Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, Mexico, most of Central and South America, and many of the islands in the West Indies.

Billbergia pyramidalis

Billbergia pyramidalis is a species of the genus Billbergia. It is native to Brazil, Venezuela, French Guiana, Lesser Antilles and Cuba; it is also reportedly naturalized in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and on the Island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

The flowers on an individual plant last less than one month, but nearly all the plants will come into bloom at the same time in the late summer. They are equally distributed as a terrestrial or epiphytic. When planted in the ground, they quickly create large clumps, and when planted at the base of a tree, will slowly climb the trunk.

Solanum dulcamara

Solanum dulcamara, also known as bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulcis, climbing nightshade, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, or woody nightshade, is a species of vine in the potato genus Solanum, family Solanaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, and widely naturalised elsewhere, including North America, where it is an invasive problem weed.

It occurs in a very wide range of habitats, from woodlands to scrubland, hedges and marshes. It is an invasive species in the Great Lakes region and was first spotted in 1843.
Bittersweet is a semi-woody herbaceous perennial vine, which scrambles over other plants, capable of reaching a height of 4 m where suitable support is available, but more often 1–2 meters high. 

The leaves are 4–12 cm long, roughly arrowhead-shaped, and often lobed at the base. The flowers are in loose clusters of 3–20, 1–1.5 cm across, star-shaped, with five purple petals and yellow stamens and style pointing forward. The fruit is an ovoid red berry about 1 cm long, soft and juicy, with the aspect and odor of a tiny tomato, and edible for some birds, which disperse the seeds widely.

It is native to northern Africa, Europe and Asia, spreading throughout the world. The plant is relatively important in the diet of some species of birds such as European thrushes[citation needed] that feed on its fruits and are immune to its poisons, scattering the seeds abroad. It grows in all types of terrain with a preference for wetlands[citation needed] and the understory of riparian forests. Along with other climbers, it creates a dark and impenetrable shelter for varied animals. The plant grows well in dark areas in places where it can receive the light of morning or afternoon. An area receiving bright light for many hours reduces their development. It grows more easily in rich wet soils with plenty of nitrogen.

Solandra maxima

Description
Cup of gold, sometimes called chalice vine, is a heavy, thick stemmed tropical liana with large shiny leaves and large bell shaped golden yellow flowers. The thick and woody ropelike stems branch frequently and root at their nodes, and can run for more than 200 ft (61 m), clinging with aerial rootlets and scrambling over everything in the way. The evergreen leaves are leathery, about 6 in (15.2 cm) long and elliptic, with prominent lighter colored midribs and lateral veins. 

The flowers are truly spectacular, shaped like a chalice, 6-10 in (15.2-25.4 cm) long, flaring open to 4-7 in (10.2-17.8 cm) across. The five lobes of the corolla are reflexed, and each lobe is marked with a narrow purplish brown ridge on the inside. The flowers start out yellow and turn deeper golden as they age. They are fragrant, especially at night, with a scent reminiscent of coconut. Cup of gold blooms intermittently through the year, but mainly in the winter dry season. 

The fruits, rarely seen in cultivation, are round berries, about 2 in (5.1 cm) in diameter.
There are eight species of chalice vines, and they often are confused in the trade. Solandra maxima is the most common species in cultivation and vines offered as S. guttata and S. grandiflora may in fact be this one. The differences are subtle.

Usage

Cup of gold is often grown on large pergolas or trellises, or trained to grow up the side of a house where the spectacular flowers can spill down the walls over windows and doorways. Tolerant of salt spray and salty soils, all the chalice vines are excellent for seaside gardens. This is a large, rampant grower which requires plenty of space and a strong support.

Datura stramonium

Datura stramonium, known by the common names Jimson weed, Devil's snare, or datura, is a plant in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. It is believed to have originated in the Americas, but is now found around the world. Other common names for D. stramonium include thornapple and moon flower, and it has the Spanish name Toloache. Other names for the plant include hell's bells, devil’s trumpet, devil’s weed, tolguacha, Jamestown weed, stinkweed, locoweed, pricklyburr, and devil’s cucumber.

For centuries, datura has been used as a herbal medicine to relieve asthma symptoms and as an analgesic during surgery or bonesetting. It is also a powerful hallucinogen and deliriant, which is used spiritually for the intense visions it produces. However, the tropane alkaloids responsible for both the medicinal and hallucinogenic properties are fatally toxic in only slightly higher amounts than the medicinal dosage, and careless use often results in hospitalizations and deaths.


D. stramonium is a foul-smelling, erect, annual, freely branching herb that forms a bush up to 2 to 5 ft (60 to 150 cm) tall.The root is long, thick, fibrous and white. The stem is stout, erect, leafy, smooth, and pale yellow-green. The stem forks off repeatedly into branches, and each fork forms a leaf and a single, erect flower.

Datura prefers rich, calcareous soil. Adding nitrogen fertilizer to the soil will increase the concentration of alkaloids present in the plant. Datura can be grown from seed, which is sown with several feet between each plant. Datura is sensitive to frost, so should be sheltered during cold weather. The plant is harvested when the fruits are ripe, but still green. To harvest, the entire plant is cut down, the leaves are stripped from the plant, and everything is left to dry. When the fruits begin to burst open, the seeds are harvested. A single intensively planted acre can produce 1,000 to 1,500 pounds (1,100–1,700 kg/ha) of leaf and 700 pounds (780 kg/ha) of seed.

Ferocactus hamatacanthus

Ferocactus hamatacanthus is widespread in the Chihuahuan Desert of Northwestern Mexico, New Mexico, and Southwestern Texas. The Ferocactus hamatacanthus Type Locality was found in Mexico.

Ferocactus hamatacanthus forms to be solitary, usually a globular to oblong shape, and grows up to 60 centimetres (24 in). This plant contains 13 ribs normally, but can sometimes be around 17. These ribs of the cactus are strongly tubercled and are generally 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) high. Its aeroles are large and 1 centimetre (0.39 in) to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) apart. There are about 12 radial spines, 5 centimetres (2.0 in) to 7 centimetres (2.8 in) long, that are acicular and terete. However, there are fewer central spines, only 4, that tend to be angled and elongated at around 15 centimetres (5.9 in). One of the central spines is hooked at its apex as well.



This cactus' flowers are large, usually 7 centimetres (2.8 in) to 8 centimetres (3.1 in), and display a yellow color with an inner scarlet color in some forms. This cactus also produces a fruit that is oblong, 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long, fleshy, edible, and a dark brown to drab-color (not red). In addition to these features, its seeds are pitted.

Ferocactus peninsulae

Ferocactus peninsulae is a barrel cactus in the genus Ferocactus belonging to the family Cacteae. Ferocactus gracilis is a globular to cylindrical solitary cactus growing up to Up to 150 cm tall, 30 cm in diameter.
Blooms in summer, flowers are diurnal red or usually golden yellow with reddish mid-stripe.

Slow growing to start but does well under cultivation.  Use very draining soil, water during the aestival growth cycle (this plant need plenty of water) But needs to be avoided  wetting the bodies of these plants while they are in sunlight. A wet cactus in the sun light can cause sun burning which can lead to scares or even fungal infections and death. 
Needs full sun. Keep dry at 10°C in winter, but can tolerate sporadic light frost.

Ferocactus viridescens

Ferocactus viridescens is a rare species of barrel cactus known by several common names, including Coast barrel cactus and San Diego barrel cactus. It is native to southern California and northern Baja California. Most of its native range is in San Diego County, California, where it is threatened by development, agriculture, and other alterations in its habitat.

This cactus is spherical, oblate, or nearly cylindrical, is usually wider than tall, and less than 30 centimeters in height. The flesh is bright green and arranged into several ribs covered in arrays of long spines. The spines stick straight out and may curve a bit, and are red when new, dulling to gray or tan. The cactus blooms in yellow to greenish flowers with red or pink scales. The fruit is yellow or red.
Cultivation: They are summer-growing and pretty easy plants thought slow to start. They are suited for any rich, well drained soil  such us clay, pumice, lava grit, and only a little peat or leaf-mould. If potted, repot them preferably in the spring, if their roots become cramped.  

Generally, they should be repotted every other year in order to provide fresh soil. However, this doesn't necessarily mean they'll need larger containers. Fill about a quarter of the pot with broken crocks, gravel, etc. to promote good drainage. After repotting, do not water for a week or more. Water regularly during the aestival growth cycle (this plant need plenty of water, but do not overwater and let their soil dry out between waterings), and also needs to be avoided wetting the body of this plant while it is in sunlight. 

A wet cactus in the sunlight can cause sun burning which can lead to scares or even fungal infections and death, keep rather dry in winter. No water should ever be allowed to stand around the roots. Feed with a high potassium fertilizer in summer. 

Sclerocactus papyracanthus

This plant grows in pinyon-juniper woodland and Chihuahuan Desert grassland habitat, usually amidst grama grass (Bouteloua spp.), especially blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis). It is often hard to see the cactus because its spines look like the leaves of the grass.

Sclerocactus papyracanthus is a species of cactus known by the common names grama grass cactus, paper-spined cactus, and toumeya. It is native to North America, where it occurs from Arizona to New Mexico to Texas and into Chihuahua, Northeastern Mexico.

Sclerocactus papyracanthus is small cactus grows up to 8 centimeters tall by 2.5 wide. It is covered in so many spines they obscure the stems beneath. They are white, tan, or gray in color, papery in texture, and sometimes twisted or wavy in shape.
The actual shape of the flower is an oval pedal. The flower is up to 2.5 centimeters long and have light-colored outer tepals with dark midstripes. The fruit is green and dry at maturity.

Selenicereus spinulosus

Selenicereus spinulosus is a cactus species native to eastern Mexico and, possibly, the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States. Common names include Spiny Moon Cereus and Vine-like Moonlight Cactus. Its specific name, spinulosus, means "spiny" in Latin and is unusual for a plant with relatively short spines.

This was the third species of Selenicereus to be discovered. It was originally collected by Thomas Coulter in 1827, in Mexico, but no locality is known. Pyramus de Candolle received the plant in Paris and descripted it without knowing its flowers. He later sent cuttings to Berlin where it flowered the first time in 1842.

This species is found in eastern Mexico from Tamaulipas to Chiapas. Plants were collected from the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States, but this population may have been extirpated as it has not been seen outside of cultivation in some time.

Stems scandent, clambering or sprawling, branching, producing aerial roots, stiff, to 1-2(-5) m long, 2–3 cm thick; ribs 4-6 or more, later terete, acute; areoles 1,5–2 mm on Ø, reddish brown at first, later greyish brown, internodes 1,5-2,5 cm; spines 6-8, 1 mm long, acicular, white or yellowish, later blackish, radial spines 5-6 central spines 1-2, basally 0,25 mm in Ø above the swollen bases, apically attenuate-conical, circular in cross section, the bulbous bases 0,5 mm in Ø, hairlike spines none; epidermis light green, somewhat shining. Flowers produced from areoles near tip, 8–14 cm long, 7-8,5 cm in Ø, nocturnal but stays open for 2 2–3 days (John Ellis, UK), tepals rotate; pericarpel covered with spines, but no hairs, bracteoles small, triangular, reddish; receptacle ca 5 cm long, green, with clusters of 7-12 spines, 4–5 mm long, brownish, but no hairs; outer tepals 5,5–6 cm, narrowly oblong, acute, brownish; inner tepals 7,5 cm, 11 mm wide, narrowly oblong, acute, white, sometimes with pink base or pinkish throughout; stamens white, much shorter than inner tepals; style yellow, stigma lobes 9-11. Fruit globular, yellow, covered densely with yellowish spines.

Plants ca 1 m long are capable of flowering. Give half-shade or full sun, and grow in a compost containing plenty of peat. During the growing period this plant needs ample water and regular doses of fertilizer. Fast growing and free flowering. Can be kept at 5°C (41°F) during winter, if kept dry. It is the easiest species to bring to flower in cultivation.

Opuntia microdasys

Opuntia microdasys (Bunny Ears Cactus, Bunny Cactus or Polka-dot Cactus) is a species of cactus native and endemic to central and northern Mexico.


Opuntia microdasys forms a dense shrub 40–60 cm tall, occasionally more, composed of pad-like stems 6–15 cm long and 4–12 cm broad.
Opuntia microdasys has no spines, but instead has numerous white or yellow glochids 2–3 mm long in dense clusters; these glochids are barbed and thinner than the finest human hairs, detaching in large numbers upon the slightest touch. If not removed they will cause considerable skin irritation, so the plants must be treated with caution. Despite this, it is a very popular cactus in cultivation.

Glochids should be removed as soon as possible, before the onset of contact dermatitis which may persist for months if left untreated.
To minimize the potential misery, keep your hands wet while dealing with any plant with glochids like this.
The water on your wet skin softens on contact the tips of the very fine glochids,dramatically reducing their ability to actually penetrate the skin and stick. See Removal of glochidia

This cacti has no central stem or leaves. The individual segments which constitute the cactus body are oval shaped pads from which additional segments form. These new segments always grow in pairs, giving new growth areas the appearance of bunny ears. Newest segments grow in as a red color, and mature to dark green as they grow. Flowers will always sprout from the terminal ends of segment pads.


The Polka-dot Cactus covers its mature pads with closely spaced glochids, or small mounds of prickles that are designed to detach when impacted by something. Once fully formed, the glochids form on the new plant segment. The glochids are so loosely attached that a strong breeze can cause them to go airborne.

Flowers only bud at the termination points of fully formed segments. Budding begins in late spring, and culminates in early summer with 2 inch wide blossoms. These are a creamy yellow in color, and fade to peach once fertilized. Flowers will turn into 2 inch long fruits varying from purple to red in color. Bloom encouragement is not needed.

Echinocereus engelmannii

The Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii) is commonly found in desert areas of the southwestern United States and the adjacent areas of Mexico, including the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Baja California and Sonora. It usually grows in clusters, sometimes up to 20 and more stems. Its bright magenta flowers bloom in April in its southern extremes to late May at northern locations. The flowers are borne at the upper half to one third of the stem. 

They are funnelform in shape, up to 3.5 inches long with dark-green stigmas. The fruit is very spiny. At first it is green, becoming pink and drying when ripe. The ripe fruit has spines which are easily detached. The seeds are black, and around a tenth of an inch in size.
The stems are initially cylindrical and erect in young plants, but later with the stem base lying on the ground. The stems are usually 1.5 to 3.5 inches in diameter and up to 25 inches high, and obscured by heavy spines. The plants have around 10 ribs, which are somewhat flattened and tuberculate.
Spines variable in color and size. 

Radial spines are shorter and needlelike, up to 0.8 inch long, white and arranged in a neat rosette. Central spines number 2 to 7 and are stout, usually twisted or angular, up to 3 inches long and variable in color: bright yellow, dark brown, grey, and white.

Echinocereus engelmannii is commonly used as a landscape plant in its native areas. In pot culture it requires well aerated gritty substrate, and a hot and sunny location in the summer. In the winter the plant easily tolerates light frost and wet (if well-drained) soil. In cultivation it usually does not bloom until it develops 2-3 branches.