Stats

Lifespan: 30+ yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Desert
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Endangered

About

A stout, globe-shaped cactus native to central Mexico, armoured in dense golden-yellow spines arranged along dramatic ribs. Critically endangered in the wild — its last major natural population was flooded by a reservoir — yet one of the most widely cultivated cacti on Earth.

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: Kroenleinia
Species: Kroenleinia grusonii