Anodyne Posted May 11, 2013 (edited) I'm fairly new to cactus-growing, and maybe I just haven't been paying attention, but I have never seen these weird little green flesh-hook things before. Has anyone else's cacti got these and what the hell are they? Edited May 11, 2013 by Anodyne 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 tipz Posted May 11, 2013 (edited) vestigial leaves Edited May 11, 2013 by cacti jihadist 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 CβL Posted May 11, 2013 I think they could be the proto-leaves, as seen in the attached picture. Yours look a bit different though, and sometimes I wonder if some cacti have in-grown spines. Anyway, just a bit of a filler answer until someone can give better info. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 quarterflesh Posted May 11, 2013 maybe its a male! haha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Bert&Ernie Posted May 11, 2013 As spines are modified leaves I would say your cactus just has a genetic thing where it still keep some of its primal leaves... which is pretty cool, you should try and breed it with another cactus with the same traits and see if you can get bigger leaves. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Anodyne Posted May 11, 2013 Wow, my cactus has leaves. Plants are awesome! Thanks for the ID help all. A quick search showed that this is not that uncommon on bridgesii pups, but it'll be interesting to see how this plant develops. There are none on the main stem, and they're only on the lower portions of the pups, not around the growing tips. Anyone know if they disappear as the plant ages? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 naja naja Posted June 4, 2013 like the way legless lizerds have vestigial legs Oh, did I mention that everything was created, wats that evolution BS 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 naja naja Posted June 4, 2013 http://www.flickr.com/photos/centralaustralia/7822048348/sizes/m/in/photostream/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 naja naja Posted June 4, 2013 http://www.flickr.com/photos/centralaustralia/7822048348/sizes/m/in/photostream/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 naja naja Posted June 4, 2013 http://www.flickr.com/photos/centralaustralia/7822048348/sizes/m/in/photostream/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 naja naja Posted June 4, 2013 http://www.flickr.com/photos/centralaustralia/7822048348/sizes/m/in/photostream/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 mutant Posted June 4, 2013 awesome could we see more photos of the whole cactus ? is it planted on the ground ? how long has he been there. we can see a wooden base Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 mutant Posted June 4, 2013 awesome could we see more photos of the whole cactus ? is it planted on the ground ? how long has he been there. we can see a wooden base Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 qualia Posted June 4, 2013 just reminded me of this 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Anodyne Posted June 6, 2013 mutant, were you asking me? Sure I can take some more pics. I'll try to get one showing the original column too, as it doesn't have any of the leaves & I dunno exactly how to describe this, but overall is rounder and has less well-defined ribs than the pup in the OP. I'm guessing it's the same kind of mechanism that results in monstrose pups from normal cacti & vice versa? but I'll be interested to see if the leaves persist as the pups age, or if they shrivel up & disappear at some point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 mutant Posted June 6, 2013 yep were asking ya. I 've taken lots of shots of these 'leaves' especially in bridgesii but never seen it persist. its interesting. pleases how more of this and the cactus 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Anodyne Posted February 1, 2014 Finally remembered about this today when looking at the new growth on this cactus. Unfortunately there are no signs of it growing any more leaves: Mutant, as requested here is a shot of the whole plant, the cut stem on the left is the original, the two on the right pupped from it and were the ones displaying leaves - you can still see them down around some of the lower spines if you look closely. I don't know how old it is, but it's a small plant as you can see. I did notice some more leaves on the pup of another plant - I think this one was sold as "psych0" bridgesii. It'd be interesting to figure out why they do this - I'm pretty sure that the top half of this cactus is showing no sign of growing leaves, so it seems to just be on pups, but why would they do that? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 mutant Posted February 1, 2014 Thanks, looks like what I call "standard US bridesii" . Why they do those leaves? it might be a former characteristic that was almost disappeared today. remember the pereskia kai pereskiopsis genuses, they are one of the first real cacti, but they also have leaves. So, some of the first cacti had indeed leaves! check this out , a thread with many pictures of vestigial leaves on bridgesii, cuzco, pachanoi, and peruvian. I wonder if scop does it http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=27487&hl=vestigial Its not realy important, but its interesting taxonomically I think, it might reveal something from the species past or the relationships between the species... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Anodyne Posted February 19, 2014 Also noticed a few small ones on my TBM yesterday - they're underneath the lower pups though, I can't get a decent photo and they're not that impressive anyway. Seems to be the same pattern though: first few sets of areoles that form on the first pups after a bridgesii is cut back. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Evil Genius Posted February 19, 2014 (edited) Those are vestigial Leaves. Will try to say this in One sentence.Cacti descended from Grandfather Cactus, a leafy Pereskiopsis-type Plant, and these are the remains of the leaves. Or for the Anti-Evolution Cooks: God made them for the lulz. Edited February 19, 2014 by Evil Genius 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Anodyne Posted February 19, 2014 EG - do you know what causes some cacti to produce them and not others? Why a mid cut of psycho0 is making them, but not the top cut of the same plant, for instance? It seems to only be certain strains, certain conditions... suggests to me some kind of gene expression triggered by certain conditions, but what conditions? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Evil Genius Posted February 19, 2014 Not sure. It´s probably triggered by Genes. Just think of it as genetic defects. If Parent a and Parent B both carry a certain gene, the Leaves will be activated. If only one Parent has it, they won´t and so on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Bert&Ernie Posted February 19, 2014 I wonder how hard it would be to breed the leaves back into cacti like a Cereus or something.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Anodyne Posted February 19, 2014 Gene expression is "probably triggered by genes"? I know I asked a noob question in my first post, but jeez, that's still pretty harsh. I was trying to make the point that these genes, even when they are present, are not always expressed. As others have pointed out - a cactus will only produce a few, then usually stops. This would suggest to me that some certain set of conditions, such as higher-than-normal levels of a certain growth hormone, might be triggering those usually-dormant genes to express vestigial leaves for a short time. Like the growth of dark hair on the extremities of Siamese cats, which is due to a temperature-sensitive expression of a gene which produces melanin, giving them dark hair only where their fur is coldest! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Optimystic Posted February 19, 2014 I wonder how hard it would be to breed the leaves back into cacti like a Cereus or something.... We'll breed THC into a tomato before we figure out how to cross a cereus with a pereskiopsis lol 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
I'm fairly new to cactus-growing, and maybe I just haven't been paying attention, but I have never seen these weird little green flesh-hook things before. Has anyone else's cacti got these and what the hell are they?
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