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Original photo by Chloe Herriot/ Unsplash
There’s only one species of cactus found wild outside the Americas.
There are nearly 2,000 known species of cacti, all of which are native to the Americas alone — except for one. That would be Rhipsalis baccifera, also known as the spaghetti cactus or the mistletoe cactus, which grows wild in India, Sri Lanka, and Africa as well as parts of the Americas. Even stranger than the idea of a single cactus species thousands of miles away from its prickly relatives is the fact that scientists aren’t exactly sure how R. baccifera ended up in the Eastern Hemisphere to begin with. The epiphytes (also called air plants) are remarkably resilient, able to survive without soil by drawing moisture from the air, and the many theories attempting to explain their broad distribution fit their strange nature.

One explanation is that birds snacked on the white berries containing R. baccifera’s seeds somewhere in South America before flying all the way to Africa, where they passed those seeds and essentially planted the cactus on the other side of the world. Problem is, scientists don’t know of any berry-snacking birds that could have actually made that journey. Another theory suggests that sailors used the cactus, with its fetching long green branches, to decorate their living quarters while journeying across the Atlantic from Brazil, then left them behind upon arriving in Africa. Yet another theory posits that the plant could have existed way back when Africa and the Americas were part of one supercontinent called Gondwana — which then broke up around 184 million years ago, leaving a little cactus on both sides. However, it’s unlikely the plant existed all those years ago. The truth is, we’ll probably just have to embrace the mystery of it all.

You can drink cactus water.
Reveal Answer
Reveal Answer

The largest cactus in the United States is the __.
Reveal Answer
Numbers Don’t Lie

Years a cactus can live
200

Height (in feet) of the tallest wild cactus in the world, found in Mexico
63

Arms a saguaro cactus can have
25

Subfamilies of cacti (Cactoideae, Maihuenioideae, Opuntioideae, Pereskioideae)
4

Did You Know? Prickly pears are a common ingredient in Mexican cuisine.
Known as the prickly pear in English, these species of Opuntia cactus are more commonly called nopales in Spanish. Rich in antioxidants and fiber, the cactus paddles — with needles removed, of course — are a key ingredient in a number of Mexican dishes. Nopales con huevos, or scrambled eggs with nopales, are a favorite, as are salads and tacos featuring them; sometimes nopales are simply eaten as a side vegetable. With a taste that’s been described as a cross between green beans and asparagus (pears and watermelons have also been mentioned as points of reference), they’re enjoyed for their versatility and nutritional value alike. They can even be added to margaritas.

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