Red Bloom Cactus

Article written for the Peculiar Plants Challenge

Written by Loremaster Aemon

The Red Bloom Cactus

The Red Bloom Cactus is a species of the Castacaecis family of plants which fall into two main groups; cactuenia and cactoid. Most members of these two groups are easily recognizable as cacti. They have the fleshy green-yellowish stems. They have absent, small, or transient leaves, some have flowers, and some have fruit. The Red Bloom has a wide variety of growth habits, which is difficult to divide into a clear, simple category.

The Columnar Variety of Red Bloom

Some smaller Red Blooms may be described as columnar. They consist of erect, cylinder-shaped stems, which may or may not branch. The boundary between columnar forms and tree-like or shrubby forms is difficult to define. Smaller and younger specimens are columnar, whereas older and larger specimens may become tree-like. In some cases, the "columns" may be horizontal rather than vertical, and some have stems growing along the ground, rooting at intervals.

Tall Red Bloom Cacti by Vell

 

Red Bloom Cactus by heraldnet

 

Red Bloom Cactus by etsy

 

The Globular Variety of Red Bloom

The Red Bloom whose stems are smaller may be described as globular (or globose). They consist of shorter, more ball-shaped stems than columnar cacti. Globular cacti may be solitary, or their stems may form clusters that can create large mounds. All or some stems in a cluster may share a common root.

Red Blooms by wallpapercave

 

Other Forms of The Red Bloom

Other Red Blooms have a quite different appearance. In tropical regions, some grow as forest climbers. Their stems are typically flattened, almost leaf-like in appearance, with fewer or even no spines. Climbing cacti can be extremely large. Vine-like cacti often hang downwards, forming dense clumps where they grow in trees high above the ground.

Red Blooms by wallpapertip

 

Beautiful but Deadly

The seeds of most flowers are completely safe for human consumption, used for seasoning food, because of its distinct spicy/peppery flavour, but the darker side of some seeds are their use as poisons. The seed must be ground down to a fine powder and added to food or drink, a small dose may cause headaches, nausea and even stomach pains, a larger dose can be fatal causing most of the major organs in the body to not function as normal resulting in a slow painful death.

For more information on the Cactus plant read the full article Cactus.

Basic Information

Ecology and Habitats

The Red Bloom Cactus can be found in the Desert, Scrub arid plains, and in Jungles and forested/woodland terrain.

Cactus Dawn Landscape by africa21.africa

Red Blooms by wallpapertip

Scientific Name

Castacaecis

Average Height

The Red Bloom varies from the Globular species at a size from 1 cm (0.4 inches) upwards to the Columnar species which grows upwards of a few feet to heights of 19.2 m (63 ft).

Related Ethnicities

• Emidian
• Illyrian
• Talosian

Red Bloom Cactus by etsy