Cacteae
| Cacteae | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leuchtenbergia principis flower | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
| Tribe: | Cacteae |
| Sub-tribes | |
|
Cactanae |
|
Cactanae
Cactinae
Cereinae
Echinocactinae
Echinocereinae
Epiphyllinae
Hylocereinae
Rhipsalidinae
Cacteae is a tribe of plants belonging to the family Cactaceae. They consist of species that either have no leaves at all, or have stems that resemble leaves. Some have scales that resemble leaves, but the majority have leaf-bases that have been fused either into ribs or tubercles.
The Cacteae tribe is very large, comprising almost 75% of all the Cactaceae. As a result it has been sub-divided into eight sub-tribes, these being as follows: Cactanae, Cactinae, Cereinae, Echinocactinae, Echinocereinae, Epiphyllinae, Hylocereinae, and Rhipsalidinae. Members of this tribe have been moved around and often placed in other tribes.
Similar to Echinocactinae, these plants tend to have either globular or stumpy cylindrical main stems. They don't branch, but may produce offshoots from the base. They have ribs that are fused together tubercles, so much so that there is only a vague bump where the areoles are. The plants also develop a pronounced, wooly, and occasionally bristly cephalium from which the flowers appear. There are only two genera comprising this subtribe, Discocactus and Melocactus.
This is quite an important subtribe, especially to cactus-lovers, as it contains the large Mamillaria genus. This may not be as large as the Opuntia genus but it contains more than its fair share of hybrids and variations - sometimes making it near impossible to determine the species of some plants. They all produce globular (turning cylindrical) stems and most produce offshoots freely. The tubercles are generally arranged in spirals. The principal genera of this subtribe are Coryphantha, and Mamillaria and sometimes taking 30-years for just one branch to form
Most of these plants grow erect, though a few are more horizontal. They generally have a thick, columnar, main stem from which branches eventually grow. These branches eventually also grow branches leading to a tree-like shape in very old specimens. They almost always have pronounced ribs with areoles that normally have many spines. The principal genera are Cephalocereus, Cereus_(plant), , Espostoa, and Oreocereus.
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