What's the most critically endangered cactus that I can grow from seed to help it's species continue to stay alive.
by BotanyBum
What's the most critically endangered cactus that I can grow from seed to help it's species continue to stay alive.
by BotanyBum
9 Comments
Ariocarpus bravoanus
Aztekium species
Mammillaria theresae
Pediocactus knowltonii
Discocactus subterraneo-proliferans. There’s only a few dozens known in private collections so might be a bit tricky to get a hold of
lophophora!
A noble goal but know that growing a cactus from seed is not for the faint of heart. Cactus seedlings are kind of a pain in the ass.
The good news is that practically all cacti grow easily from cuttings. This is a lot easier than growing from seed. However, since plants grown from cuttings are genetic clones of the mother plant, you’re not increasing genetic diversity of the species you wish to protect, which is very importantly for endangered species.
Propably *Haageocereus tenius* or *Dendrocereus nudiflorus*, but the latter is less endangered I think. I think it doesn’t have good pollinators tho so the plants don’t produce much seeds and most plants are big adults, with very little seedlings and small plants.
r/Succulentsbyseed
One that is very common in cultivation but essentially extinct in the wild is the golden barrel cactus (Kroenleinia grusonii, formally Echinocactus)
Wild population got wiped out when they built a dam in Mexico, but at least it got very popular in cultivation so the species is still alive and doing strong in desert gardens around the world.
*Mammillaria scheinvariana* was discovered just one year before its whole habitat got flooded when a dam was built, so it’s extinct in the wild today and unlike *Kroenleinia grusonii*, it’s not common in cultivation either. A shame, it’s super fluffy!
Rauhocereus rionsaniensis,
Lophophora williamsii,
Coryphantha echinus