Leda,

Actually, they are a true cactus. They just don't come from a desert region. :)

Dutchlady1,

Thanks! I took it last January at Laguna Beach, CA.

Thank you Dutchlady1. How do you determine what is a true cactus? I only remember parts of my Botony and Latin... so if you can simplify the answer it would be appreciated? Sigh! So much to learn and nice people to learn it from....

Leda,

Are you asking me?

A cactus is anything belonging to the family Cactaceae which are succulent plants with swollen stems, typically possesses hairs or spines, and has a lack of leaves. They are native to the New World with the exception of one.

There are also other more specific identifies such as the use of CAM, areoles, and flower characteristics.

This is a short list:

http://wc.pima.edu/~bfiero/tuc...

and this is more detailed:

http://www.desertmuseum.org/bo...

Julianna

Julianna,

Thank you so much for kindly answering my question. I read the first one but will read and bookmark the second for my files.

You are Wonderful,
Leda

Leda,

You're welcome! I think we all grow up with this idea of what they are and where they live, so it's a bit strange to realize some live in high water areas :)

Julianna

Love mine. Blooming now as days have shortened.

Hello all folks who know more than I do about these things,

Got a piece of this rooted in a plastic cup a few years ago. It's still alive and blooming today .
What is it???? (I hope i'm in the right place for this question)

@JB would know for sure, but I'm guessing S. russelliana…Maybe?

Tara, I am not sure about that.........it is a hard call without seeing it close up and my eye is not that great. It looks to me to be really close to S.Russelliana but the stems look a bit wide...no sense guessing. Let's see if we can find something to compare it to.

Schlumbergera russelliana resembles other species of the genus Schlumbergera in that it has leafless green stems which act as photosynthetic organs. The stems (cladodes) are composed of strongly flattened segments, which have a small number of notches along their edges. Individual segments are about 1–3.8 cm (0.4–1.5 in) long by 0.8–2.0 cm (0.3–0.8 in) wide.[1]

Special structures characteristic of cacti, called "areoles", occur in the notches at the side of a segment and at the end. The areoles, which bristles up to 5 mm (0.2 in) long, are where the flower buds appear. The flowers hang downwards and are radially symmetrical (regular). They are about 5 cm (2.0 in) long by 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) across. The tepals, which are of various shades of pink, are arranged in two groups, giving the appearance of a "flower within a flower". The inner tepals are longer and fused together at the base to form a floral tube about 3 cm (1.2 in) long; nectar is produced at the base of this tube. Plants flower in the spring; when cultivated in the Northern Hemisphere the flowering period is February to April.[1]







Looking at it again, I am still not sure. Sorry but my old eye is just what it used to be.
Note: These are not my photo's I got them from the internet and showing them to you for your information.

Looks to be X Buckleyi True Christmas Cactus to me. but hard to really tell because there isn't any way to tell the size of the segments. Will be larger on Buckleyi than S.Russelliana but it is 1 of the 2 and if there is some pink on the tips of the white filiments then Buckleyi for sure.
and JB, my old eyes are getting bad too.
cliff

Thank you all--
I measured the widest segment at18mm, the longest segment at 6cm--
while most of the segments are about 14-16mm wide by about 4.5cm long.
I don't see any pink on the tips of the filaments:



The segments would appear too long, according to the description above, for S.Russelliana...but not too wide...
So now what do you think?

Also, is it special? I mean, I know where that mother plant lives plus a few others... should I go see if some more pieces fell off?

Cliff, this is your call. I just do not know.

I have a similar one for you to take a look at. This baby caused quite a bit of discussion over the years and I even had CactiGuide give me their two cents. What do you think this is?



Here is a shot of the plant.

JB,
is this your Petra's Pink? If it is then i have that 1 but it hasn't bloomed yet for me. but i have it hanging beside my Buckleyi
and the leaf segments are all smaller than the Bu, even starts out smaller than the Bu.. I had a link to a English Site but lost it when my old computer died on me. and haven't found it since. but that guy had a line he called Christmas Cactus He had a Pink & White,A Lav & W , an Orange 1 and a Red 1 and 1 he called Apricot They all had segments like the Buckley only smaller. I am still trying to find it tho.
I never got to get any of his but there were several new type hybrids that came out in the late 50's & 60's, so i would assume yours is most likely 1 of those. Just like 1 that is being sold on the west coast called Le Vesue it's not a true Buckleyi but a Buckleyi type.
I know that the original plant that my cuttings came from was at least from 1890's. The last time i saw that plant was in fall of 1958 when i helped my neighbor then, bring it inside for the winter. I keep seeing where people say to keep this plant root bound. That CC was in a 3 bushel galvanized washtub took 4 of us to move it. And Mr B was like a big old Bear!! That plant was given to 1 of Mrs. B's nieces and i got my cuttings from her daughter. So i don't know if they are from original plant or cuttings from cuttings.
Mine only had a few blooms this year late Jan. because i had promised some cuttings and it was late when i did it so it spent a longer time growing back.
This is a pic. shows very little white, only on the throat.
cliff

Here is another shot of the Petra's pink. It is blooming again.


I have decided, after a chat with my friend from the Atlanta Botanical Garden, that I would call it a Schlumbergera x buckleyi , Petra's Pink Noid, Old Fashion Christmas Cactus. That way I am not misleading anyone when I sell it. I know it is old and it is pot bound and it blooms later than the other hybrids. I also can use that in my Cubit's database.

I know it is "special" but maybe it is only "special" to me. I just sold twelve cuttings from it a week ago but it has been too cold to ship. I am going to ship next Tuesday. They are going to California and she knows it is a noid.

Thanks for all that good information. It is amazing how much history some of these cactus have. I just wish they could talk about it.

JB, could it be S. "snowii"?

julianna said:JB, could it be S. "snowii"?

Very funny! Julianna......but, I want nothing in my house to remind me of this miserable winter. My greenhouse is beginning to show stress big time. Thank goodness I have most of my stock plants in the house and they are not subject to the constant temperature changes like the ones on the GH are. That is so hard on them and not a thing I can do about it. Today it is 20 deg. outside and 96 deg. in the greenhouse with the sun shining on the shade cloth. Crazy weather makes for sad little plants. They need more humidity than I can muster up now also. No sense complaining, what will be will be.

Sorry you're having a hard time. I was thinking "snowii" since iirc it has smaller phylloclades and more white in the throat.

julianna said:Sorry you're having a hard time. I was thinking "snowii" since iirc it has smaller phylloclades and more white in the throat.

Cahac said:Looks to be X Buckleyi True Christmas Cactus to me. but hard to really tell because there isn't any way to tell the size of the segments. Will be larger on Buckleyi than S.Russelliana but it is 1 of the 2 and if there is some pink on the tips of the white filiments then Buckleyi for sure.
and JB, my old eyes are getting bad too.
cliff

@Cahac
okay Cliff--same plant, next season and new camera/lens and different lighting clearly shows pink anthers


so can I call it Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) for sure?



I'd like to put these in the DB, but I sure hate to be 'wrong'!
@purpleinopp Tiffany, what do you think?

Thanks!