Stats

Lifespan: Up to 20 yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: South America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Vulnerable

About

Christmas Cactus is a Brazilian rainforest epiphyte that grows in tree crevices rather than desert soil, blooming in mid-winter with tubular flowers in vivid shades of red, pink, orange, or white at the tips of its flat, claw-shaped stem segments.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Schlumbergera
Species: Schlumbergera truncata