Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical dry forest

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Spines

Status

Near Threatened

About

The rattail cactus is a trailing succulent that clings to rocky cliffs. Its stems grow up to six feet long and are covered in tiny, needle-like spines.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 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

Aporocactus

Species

Aporocactus flagelliformis