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Attacked by cactus

Hey,

While mowing the lawn, i got attacked (i ran into) our large, 8 foot tall cactus. Its about 10 feet wide, too. Its a rosetted one, with small black shiny spines on the sides of the leaves, and at the tip is a long, 2-3 inch black shiny spine. Can anyone tell me what this guy is, and if its poisonous? Maybe show me some pics too
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Hey Spec,  If that thing is posionous...by the time you get an answer it will be too late.  The affected part of your body will have turned black and dropped off.
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I suggest you get your affairs in order, send me your CP collection and then go down to the Sand Bar Restaurant to have your last meal of Sand Dabs.
Have a really nice day.  
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By your description, it sounds like an Agave Americana - Century Plant.

It won't kill you (Sorry Jan
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) but it might swell up and hurt for a while.

CD
 
And I was just about to ship Jan all my plants!
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Yep, thats what it is cactusdoug... only the spines on this one are longer. it looks like this:
agaveamericanavariegata.jpg

But like I said, with longer spines on the sides and ends. Yep, it swelled up for a while, but I'm alive
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Oh yes! I have jabbed myself a few times on this species, and I can tell you it HURTS! I think there is some chemical on the thorns evolved to teach blundering mammals what for.

A poultice of bread and warm milk placed over the puncture will draw out any nasty stuff if left on overnight. This also works well for any infections.
 
There is an actual form of arthritis that is from cactus spine punctures over several years. I have some pretty large column cactus that have gotten me good and the stiffness and pain can last quite a while. Needless to say everyone around my house stears clear of my cacti, cats and dogs as well.

I once took a serious bite from a Euphorbia and had to pull over while driving to wait out the drowsiness and mild hallucinations.

Joe
 
I got a minor small from a really long spined cacti while it was in the car on the way home(it slid right towards my fingertips).

The pins and needles sensation lasted quite a while.
 
I only know of one poisonous cactus peyote,aka. mushrooms,buttuns,etc.
 
Btw Agaves are lilys not cacti.:D
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (pond boy @ May 11 2004,6:11)]Btw Agaves are lilys not cacti.:D
actually, they are both. Some latin names have been used on multiple plants. search gracilis in google. you get lots of pics of lots of different plants
 
  • #11
It depends also on the whether you are referring to the latin or the common name. Some plants may carry a latin name that is also used as a common name for a totally unrelated plant. Agave is botanically correct for cactus, it may well be correct for lilys too.
Spec, spectabillis as I'm sure you know is a specie name which is commonly used more than once because names are actually desriptions in latin. However Agave is not a specie, it is a Genus and although I am not a taxonomist I do not know of any doubly used Genus names.
There are soooooo many poisonous cacti that most people don't know are. Just to name a few all the Trichocereus are hallucinogenic (poisonous) as well as Aztekium, and quite a few others.

Joe


Joe
 
  • #12
Sorry guys,

Agaves are succulents not cactus, they do not have areoles.

"The most peculiar and complex organ of any plant and an identifying character of cacti, is the areole. It is round or oval and composed of two tight perpindicular buds. The lower bud develops the spines, the upper bud produces flowers, fruits, branches or adventitious roots.
The areoles are located on the sides or edges of the p rickly pear pads; on the apex of the flattened cholla tubercles; along the ribs of barrels, hedgehogs and cerei; on the end of the pincusion nipples." Quoted from Cacti of the Southwest, by W. Hubert Earle.

Remember, "All cactus are succulents, but not all succulents are cactus."

And they are no longer considered part of the Lily family.

They are now Agavaceae,
which includes Agaves, Yuccas, Hesperaloes, Dasylirions, Nolinas,and Manfredas.
You can thank the "Lumpers" & "Splitters" for this.

The only cactus I know of that is called Agave Cactus is Leuchtenbergia principis a monotypic (only one species in the genus) cactus from northern and central Mexico that loosely resembles an Agave.

Cactusdoug
 
  • #13
I'm sorry your right it is succulent. I did not know it used to be a lily
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I am not a collector of them although I do enjoy Cylindropuntia.

CactusD, Could you tell me what Cylindro's I could grow in zone 6? I have the christmas cholla (?name?) but what others are hardy enough?

Joe
 
  • #14
Joe,

I also like the Cylindropuntia (cholla)

The botanical name for Christmas Cholla is Cylindropuntia leptocaulis

As to cold tolerance, I'll try my best to answer your question.
Many factors affect cold tolerance. All the cactus listed below will take the cold of the Mojave Desert.
Some will take more cold if planted against a south or east facing wall.
And some will take more cold with a blanket of snow on them.
Also rocks around the base of the plants retain heat.
Below is a chart of cold tolerance of Opuntia species.
You might print it out for future reference.

Cactusdoug


P-RICKLY PEARS ( the Language Censor won't allow p-rickly? replaces it with smally?)
Opuntia littoralis v. vaseyi Down to about 0 degrees F.
Opuntia erinacea v. ursina Down to about -5 degrees F.
Opuntia basilaris Down to about -10 degrees F.
Opuntia basilaris v. ramosa Down to about -10 degrees F.
Opuntia violacia v. santa rita Down to about -5 degrees F.
Opuntia violacia v. macrocentra Down to about -10 degrees F.
Opuntia microdasys v. rufida (brown glochids) About 5 degrees F.
Opuntia microdasys v. pallida (yellow glochids) About 5 degrees F.
Opuntia microdasys v. albispina (white glochids) About 5 degrees F.
Opuntia chlorotica Down to about 0 degrees F.
Opuntia rufida Down to about -5 degrees F.
Opuntia rufida forma monstrosa Down to about -5 degrees F.
Opuntia lindheimeri v. linguiformis Down to about 5 degrees F.
Opuntia phaeacantha v. major Down to about 5 degrees F.
Opuntia phaeacantha v. discata Down to about 5 degrees F.
Opuntia tomentosa Down to about 20 degrees F.
Opuntia basilaris X violacia Down to about -5 degrees F.
CHOLLAS
Cylindropuntia ramosissima Down to about 5 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia arbuscula Down to about 5 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia kleinae v. tetracantha Down to about 5 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia leptocaulis) Down to about -5 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia imbricata Down to about -5 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia imbricata (white flower) Down to about -5 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia fulgida Down to about 5 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia fulgida v. mammillata Down to about 5 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia fulgida v. mammillata forma monstrosa 5 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa Down to about 5 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia prolifera Down to about 10 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia bigelovii Down to about 5 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa v. major Down to about 0 degrees F.
Cylindropuntia munzii Down to about 5 degrees F.
 
  • #15
Just for kicks, I'll tell you about one of my Yucca story. Anyhow, my friend and I were hiking behind my house and I swung my arm up quickly because of some bug that landed on my arm. Unfortunetly, I swung my hand straight into the tip of a yucca leaf. The tip lodged right into the second knuckle on my thumb where it meets the palm. My friend and I couldn't dig it out with her Swiss Army knife or the tweezers included in it. Finally had to walk back down to my house where my dad had to do some surgery with a needle and knife for 20 minutes. The splinter was 2/10ths of an inch long, and my knuckle swelled up for a couple of days. Painful and almost too stupid to explain to the kids in my class.

Since then, I've steered away from "spikies." I own a few huernias and an euphorbia obesa. Those obesas have a wonderful pattern and color.

And on yet another tangent (because I'm sleep deprived), Yuccas are very tasty! I've bought a few bags of Yucca chips from Mexican and Armenian markets and I must say that they're a nice change from potato chips. They're sliced from the stalk of the plant.
 
  • #16
Thats why I cut the tips off the leaves on my yucca tree
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