Mammillaria is one of the largest genera in the cactus family (Cactaceae), with currently 200 known species and varieties recognized. Most of the mammillaria are native to Mexico, but some come from the southwest United States, the Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and Honduras. The common name "pincushion cactus" refers to this and the closely related genus Escobaria.
The term ceroid cactus is used to describe any of the species of cacti with very elongated bodies, including columnar growth cacti and epiphytic cacti. The name is from the Latin cēreus, wax taper, referring to the stiff, upright form of the columnar species. Some species of ceroid cacti were known as torch cactus or torch-thistle, supposedly due to their use as torches by Native Americans in the past.
Weberocereus is genus of cacti. It produces a green and white flower and is found mainly in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Copiapoa is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, from the dry coastal deserts, particularly the Atacama Desert, of northern Chile.
Strophocactus is a genus of cacti in the subfamily Cactoideae. Its status and circumscription remain somewhat uncertain, with the genus containing one to three species. Molecular phylogenetic data suggest that it consists of three species, including two formerly comprising the genus Pseudoacanthocereus. With this circumscription, the species have different growth habits, but share similarities in their flowers, which are white and open at night.
Parodia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cactaceae, native to the eastern slopes of the Andes in northwestern Argentina and southwestern Bolivia and in the lowland pampas regions of northeastern Argentina, southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and Uruguay. This genus has about 65 species, many of which have been transferred from Eriocactus, Notocactus and Wigginsia. They range from small globose plants to 1 m (3 ft) tall columnar cacti. All are deeply ribbed and spiny, with single flowers at or near the crown. Some species produce offsets at the base. They are popular in cultivation, but must be grown indoors where temperatures fall below 10 °C (50 °F).
The lava cactus is a species of cactus, Brachycereus nesioticus, the sole species of the genus Brachycereus. The plant is a colonizer of lava fields – hence its common name – where it forms spiny clumps up to 60 cm (24 in) tall. Its solitary white or yellowish white flowers open in the daytime. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands.
Discocactus is a genus of tropical cacti. Discocactus plants are endemic to southern Brazil, eastern Bolivia, and northern Paraguay. These species are in the risk of extinction in the wild.
Pereskiopsis is a genus of cactus in the subfamily Opuntioideae. Unlike typical cacti, it has persistent fleshy leaves. The genus name refers to its resemblance to the genus Pereskia. Most species are found in Mexico south through Guatemala to Honduras, with one species in Bolivia. The incorrect spelling Peireskiopsis has also been used.
Selenicereus megalanthus, synonym Hylocereus megalanthus, is a cactus species in the genus Selenicereus that is native to northern South America, where it is known, along with its fruit, by the name of pitahaya. The species is grown commercially for its yellow fruit, but is also an impressive ornamental climbing vine with perhaps the largest flowers of all cacti.
Opuntia monacantha, commonly known as drooping prickly pear, cochineal prickly pear, or Barbary fig, is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae native to South America.
Echinopsis pachanoi —known as San Pedro cactus—is a fast-growing columnar cactus native to the Andes Mountains at 2,000–3,000 m (6,600–9,800 ft) in altitude. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, and it is cultivated in other parts of the world. Uses for it include traditional medicine and traditional veterinary medicine, and it is widely grown as an ornamental cactus. It has been used for healing and religious divination in the Andes Mountains region for over 3,000 years. It is sometimes confused with its close relative Echinopsis peruviana.
Gymnocalycium mihanovichii is a species of cactus from South America. The most popular cultivars are varied mutants which completely lack chlorophyll, exposing the red, orange, or yellow pigmentation. These mutant strains are often grafted onto the hylocereus cactus, and the combined plant is called a "Moon Cactus". Moon cacti are commonly grown as houseplants and are also known as Ruby Ball, Red Cap, Red Hibotan, or Hibotan cacti.
Mammillaria spinosissima, also known as the spiny pincushion cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, endemic to the central Mexican states of Guerrero and Morelos, where they grow at elevations of approximately 1,600 to 1,900 metres. The species was described in 1838 by James Forbes, gardener of the Duke of Bedford. Botanist David Hunt collected a specimen in 1971, when he located one near Sierra de Tepoztlan, Mexico.
Cimora is a Peruvian term used to describe a brew with hallucinogenic properties made from the “San Pedro” cacti and other plants such as chamico in South America, used traditionally for shamanic purposes and healing in Peru and Bolivia. The name is also used to describe a number of both hallucinogenic and non-hallucinogenic plants in the region, some of which are used in traditional medicines. Which plants go by the name cimora is an ethnobotanical problem that has been debated at great length by ethnobotanists in many different journals. The term cimora is said to refer to algo malo, meaning something bad. San Pedro goes by many names including pachanoi, aguacolla, elremedio, gigantón, and cactus of the four winds. The ritualistic use of the brew is similar to ayahuasca, which is a South American used as a traditional spirit medicine in Brazil, although while the active ingredient in ayahuasca is DMT, the active ingredient in cimora is mescaline. The use of cimora and the rituals involved have evolved throughout history due to the influence of those who controlled Peru at different stages, although it has almost always involved the use of the San Pedro cactus and its mescaline content.
Cereus ( "serious") is a genus of cacti including around 33 species of large columnar cacti from South America. The name is derived from Greek (κηρός) and Latin words meaning "wax", "torch" or "candle". Cereus was one of the first cactus genera to be described; the circumscription varies depending on the authority. The term "cereus" is also sometimes used for a ceroid cactus, any cactus with a very elongated body, including columnar growth cacti and epiphytic cacti.
Thelocactus nidulans is a cactus in the genus Thelocactus of the family Cactaceae.
Denmoza rhodacantha is a species of cactus in the genus Denmoza that was described by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose in 1922.
Mirabella albicaulis, synonym Cereus albicaulis, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae, native to Northeast and Southeast Brazil. It was first described by Britton and Rose in 1920 as Acanthocereus albicaulis.
Neoraimondia arequipensis, synonym Neoraimondia macrostibas, is a tree-like cactus native to western Peru. It was first described in 1835 as Cereus arequipensis.
