Blooming Prickly
by Dick Botkin
Title
Blooming Prickly
Artist
Dick Botkin
Medium
Photograph
Description
This Prickly Pear was about 5 feet high and 6 feet wide. It put on quite a display this spring. The Prickly Pear pads are edible, and are known to help lower cholesterol.
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Most cacti live in habitats subject to at least some drought. Many live in extremely dry environments, even being found in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth. Cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. Most species of cacti have lost true leaves, retaining only spines, which are highly modified leaves. As well as defending against herbivores, spines help prevent water loss by reducing air flow close to the cactus and providing some shade. Cactus spines are produced from specialized structures called areoles, a kind of highly reduced branch. Areoles are an identifying feature of cacti. As well as spines, areoles give rise to flowers, which are usually tubular and multipetaled.
Uploaded
October 18th, 2012
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