I bought this little plant today. Said it was a cactus on the tag but nothing else. The bottoms are triangular and the new growth on top is flat. The medium is fine soil. It's about 5" from the soil to the tips. Love the tufts. Anyone recognize it?
Edited to say that some of the new growth is triangular, too.
This message was edited Apr 30, 2007 8:41 PM
Not an epie.
Lepismium cruciforme I think . I just got one last month and had to get it identified - mine said it was a 'Star Cactus'!
I gather that the flowers come where the little white tufts are.
Here's mine.
Thank you, thank you!! I knew it was something special! What is it potted in? Where did you put it (light and temp- wise)?
It is potted in whatever the supplier sent it to the greenhouse - probably just a generic mix - I decided not to change it. I have it hanging in an east facing window
in my kitchen. I've just had it a few weeks so dont know much. You can google the name and get some better info. It is a neat looking plant isnt it? That's really why I bought it. Got a rat tail cactus at the same time.
Neat! Thanks for the info and especially the name!
I may be wrong, but even if these plants don't have the word "epiphyllum" in their name, they still qualify as epiphytic plants and could very well be called "epi's"...just as hoyas and orchids and all of the holiday cacti could.
Epiphytic yes, epiphyllum no. So far as I understand it 'Epi' is the term generally applied only to the genus epiphyllum frequently ( but mistakenly) called Orchid Cactus.
Kingdom: Plantae Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae Subfamily: Cactoideae
Tribe: Rhipsalideae Tribe: Hylocereeae
Genus: Lepismium Genus: Epiphyllum
This message was edited May 25, 2007 8:30 PM
yes, you are probably right, it is just that alot of epi collectors I have come across also branch out to include all of the related plants in their collections, and sometimes call them epi's as well, for the sake of simplicity - I suppose they mean "epi" as in epiphytic.
I am guilty on the simplicity sake!
Bhavana you have just described me - and I do find this confuses a lot of peope I talk to, but then again a lot of people are confused about epis in general and what they are i think- many of my customers refer to all epis as ric racs, this confuses the heck out of me!
You start with the epiphyllums then to the rhipsalis, which are so similar its almost natural to call them Epis, of course the schlumberger & disocactus, Aporocactus (not to leave out Lepismium & etc for this group & all their relatives which are all-so similar in growth habit!) and then if you don't stop there than why not call some of the cereus variations Epi? they all grow on other plants...the list of course goes on;)
though i seem to draw some invisible line for the term "Epi" at the cacti family you of course have hoya, dischidia and so many more that are almost a natural progression once you find one to fall in love with & i can understand how some peope with huge collections would start making the generalization, how is it that people just love Epiphytes so much - they really are wonderful and addicting...We are all Epiphyles!!!
You know what is funny? Before I knew of the term "epiphyte" and before I knew how they grew or anything about them, I was very attracted to the plants of this type - had hoyas, rhips, dischidia, orchids, rosary vines, and of course all of the Holiday cacti gang. I didn't have the "orchid cacti" group because they require more space when large than I can give. I thought it was interesting that I was collecting these plants before I knew they were all of the same type, to an extent! Are you an epiforum member? Like alot of plant people, I belong to several forums, and that one is great if you are into epis and all of their friends!
PS - I love the ric rac cactus, have only 2 forms of it so far but am looking for the mini version.
This message was edited May 27, 2007 10:15 AM
I think i finally looked into the term Epiphyte after I already had a bunch too, I think i was attracted to many of those types because they seem to be super easy to care for on the whole, and my thumb was never green until i started growing cactus;)
I am not a member of the Epiforum but i read many of the posts frequently, there is some great info with many knowledgable people on ther (like here a lot - i love the hoya forum on DG super great people with lots of neat pictures and info to share!)
A mini version of the ricrac?! I have never heard of such a thing, i would LOVE to see it if you have any links or info i can look up;)
