Cactus or Cacti? 
3 
bizarre form as cacti. The most characteristic requirement of a 
cactus is the so-called “‘areole’’ which is a point of growth, often a 
slight depression, usually bearing fine short hairs (glochids) , bristles 
or spines, long hair or wool, or one or more of the foregoing. A 
brief survey of your plants will clearly show the difference and you 
will have mastered the first step in knowing them. 

The cactus with true leaves is called the Lemon 
Vine (Pereskia aculeata) and has areoles and 
spines. The flowers resemble a wild rose and the 
fruit is yellow like a lemon. Very few of the 
cacti have leaves. 
In talking about your 
cacti you may wonder 
which is correct, cactus 
or cacti. When speak- 
ing of one plant use 
“cactus, and when 
speaking of several, 
USemarG a’ Citdeere (PLO- 
nounced  kak’-tie): 
Often, in the titles of 
books the singular is 
used because “‘cacti”’ is 
less familiar to the be- 
ginning than the word 
“cactus.” Try to avoid 
such glaring errors as 
“cacti collection; you 
wouldn’t say ‘‘apples 
collection.” However, 
the reverse is also cor- 
rect when you _ say 
“collection of cacti” 
and not collection of 
apple’ or “collection 
OLsCActuisus 
Spend two minutes 
and think out these three simple basic statements: 1. What is a 
succulent? 2. What is a cactus? 3. When do you use the plural 
FOL Cacti’? 
