What is the latest information about cactus?

Cactus, also known as cactus, overlord tree, flame, fire, cow tongue, etc., is a tufted succulent shrub of the genus cactus of the family Opuntia, with a wide variety of species. There are 70 genera and more than 2000 species in the world. It can be divided into fan cactus, segment cactus, crab claw cactus, leaf forest cactus, spherical cactus, etc., often growing in desert and other dry environment, known as "desert hero flower". It is a kind of succulent plant.

Cactus 1.5-3 m high, upper branches broadly Obovate, Obovate-elliptic or suborbicular, margin usually irregularly wavy, base cuneate or attenuate, green to turquoise, glabrous. The areoles are sparse and prominent, and the spines often thicken and increase after growth, with 3-10 thorns per nest, dense short woolly hairs and barbed bristles. Thorns yellow, with light brown striations, coarsely subulate, base flat, hard. Barbed bristles dark brown, erect, ±persistent. Short woolly gray, shorter than barbed bristles, persistent. Leaves diamond-shaped, green, caducous.

Cactus flowers radiate, receptacle Obovate, sparsely prominent areoles, small nests with short woolly, barbed bristles and subulate spines. Calyx-shaped tepals broadly Obovate to narrowly Obovate, apex acute or rounded, mucronulate. Tepals Obovate or spatulate-Obovate, apex rounded, truncate or retuse. The filaments are yellowish. Berry obovoid, apex sunken, base more or less narrowed into a handle, surface smooth glabrous, purplish red, small nest with short woolly, barbed bristles and subulate thorns. Seeds mostly oblate, yellowish brown. The florescence is from June to October.

Cactus like strong light, resistant to heat, drought, barren, indomitable vitality, extensive management, very suitable for cultivation on the family balcony. The suitable temperature for growth is 20: 30 ℃, and there should be a temperature difference between day and night, preferably 30: 40 ℃ in the daytime and 15: 25 ℃ at night. In spring and autumn, watering should grasp the principle of "do not dry, do not water, do not be too wet".

Cactus is native to the east coast of Mexico, the southern and southeastern coastal areas of the United States, the West Indies, Bermuda and northern South America, and escaped in the Canary Islands, India and eastern Australia. It was introduced in China at the end of Ming Dynasty. It is commonly cultivated in the southern coastal areas and wild in Guangdong, southern Guangxi and Hainan coastal areas.

Cactus as a medicine in China was first published in the Compendium of Materia Medica written by Zhao Xuemin in the Qing Dynasty. According to the book, the cactus tastes mild and cold, and has the functions of activating qi and blood, clearing heat and detoxification, reducing swelling and pain, moistening the intestines and stopping bleeding, invigorating the spleen and stopping diarrhea, calming the mind and diuresis, and can be taken internally and externally to treat a variety of diseases. Liu Shanshu in the Qing Dynasty recorded that the cactus was bitter and cold, the blood of the five hemorrhoids was not difficult to treat, the children were rubbed with alopecia and hemp oil, and the scabies were washed Enron.

Cactus is high in potassium, low in sodium and low in sugar, and its sugar content is lower than that of lettuce and cucumber. Cactus has always been a traditional American food, and it is an indispensable characteristic vegetable and fruit in people's daily life. Cactus is washed and chopped and boiled in soup, or baked on the stove, or made into cake filling, or pickled fresh cactus, and some use cactus to make wine.