Holiday Cactus - Definition and Overview

The common holiday cacti (Thanksgiving Cactus, Christmas Cactus, Easter Cactus) have many Latin names, but are closely related. They are all cultivated plants, originating in the mountains north of Rio de Janeiro in Brasil, South America.

• Holiday Cactus Schlumbergera-hybrid:

• • Christmas Cactus, (Schlumbergera Bridgesii, Schlumbergera x buckleyi, Epiphyllum x buckleyi).
  • Thanksgiving Cactus, Yoke Cactus, Linkleaf Cactus, Crab Cactus, Claw Cactus, (Schlumbergera truncata - former Zygocactus truncatus).
  • Easter Cactus, (Schlumbergera gaertneri - former Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri).

Some Holiday Cacti are hybrids between Schlumbergera truncata and Schlumbergera russelliana from about 150 years ago in England. The original plants grow as epiphytes at elevations between 1000 and 1700 meters in the Organ Mountains.

One flaw of the holiday cacti is that the joints of the plants are quite fragile and can break apart if the plant is in poor health. The flower buds' joints are especially easy to detach.

Not classified latin names:

• Epiphyllum altensteinii, Schlumbergera truncata var. altensteinii, Zygocactus truncatus var. altensteinii, Epiphyllum bridgesii, Epiphyllum truncatum var. bridgesii, Zygocactus bridgesii, Epiphyllum delicatum, Schlumbergera truncata var. delicata, Zygocactus delicatus, Epiphyllum ruckeri, Epiphyllum ruckerianum, Cactus truncatus, Epiphyllum truncatum.

See also

• Cactus

External links

• Rigorous: HOLIDAY CACTUS, Commercial Greenhouse Production (http://www.ag.auburn.edu/landscape/Hcactus.htm)
• Plantsdatabase.com: Christmas Cactus, Holiday Cactus, Zygocactus Schlumbergera x buckleyi (http://plantsdatabase.com/go/1510/)
• Encyclopædia Britannica: Christmas cactus (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=84611&tocid=0&query=hybrid)
• Bartleby.com: Thanksgiving cactus, crab cactus (http://www.bartleby.com/61/25/T0142550.html)
• Connie Krochmal: Holiday Cactus (http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art12402.asp)
• Christmas Cactus - Welcome to the Denver Plants eZine (http://www.denverplants.com/ezine/11_03.htm)
• Holiday cactus may bloom again (http://www.uticaod.com/archive/2003/12/27/lifestyles/22800.html)
• Commercial Production of Holiday Cacti (http://www.umass.edu/umext/floriculture/fact_sheets/specific_crops/cacti.html)
• de: Schlumbergera truncata (http://home.t-online.de/home/kokert/truncata.htm)
• Desert-tropicals.com: Schlumbergera truncata (http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Cactaceae/Schlumbergera_truncata.html)
• HOLIDAY CACTI (http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/POW/holiday%20cacti.htm)
• Open Directory Project: Schlumbergera (http://www.dmoz.org/Science/Biology/Flora_and_Fauna/Plantae/Magnoliophyta/Magnoliopsida/Cactaceae/Schlumbergera/)