Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium facts for kids
The Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium is a special 1-acre (about 4,000 square meters) garden in Palm Springs, California. It's owned by a family and focuses on amazing cacti and other plants that grow in the desert. You can find it in the Colorado Desert area, which is an ecosystem where many desert plants thrive.
Contents
History of the Cactus Garden
The Moorten Gardens started as a plant nursery in 1939. It was created by Patricia and Chester Moorten. Chester was also known as "Cactus Slim." They later turned it into the beautiful garden we see today in 1955.
Chester Moorten was once an actor, even appearing as one of the original Keystone Cops in old movies. The Moorten family home, which is in the garden, was built in a Mediterranean style. A photographer named Stephen H. Willard originally built it.
The Moortens traveled far to collect many of their unique plants. They found them in places like Baja California, Mexico, and even Guatemala. Because of their great work for the community, the Moortens received "Golden Palm Stars." These stars are on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.
Exploring the Plant Collections
The Moorten Botanical Garden is home to about 3,000 different kinds of desert cacti and other desert plants. These plants are grouped together based on where they naturally grow in the world.
Desert Habitats from Around the World
The garden shows plants from many different desert regions, including:
- Arizona – Plants from the Sonoran Desert and Yuma Desert.
- Baja California Peninsula – Plants from this long, narrow peninsula.
- California – Plants from California's High Desert (like the Mojave Desert) and Low Desert (like the Colorado Desert).
- Colorado Plateau – Plants from the Great Basin Desert area.
- Sonora, Mexico – Plants from the Gran Desierto de Altar in Mexico.
- South Africa – Plants from the Succulent Karoo desert.
- South America – Plants from the Monte Desert and Patagonian Desert.
- Texas – Plants from the Chihuahuan Desert.
Special Garden Collections
The outdoor areas of the garden feature many interesting plants. You can see different types of Agaves, tall Bombax trees, and unique crested Cereus cacti. There are also Cardoon and Boojum trees, which have very unusual shapes. Look for "arborescent candelabra Euphorbia" which look like giant candelabras, and a two-story Pachypodium plant. You'll also find thorny Caesalpinia and Bursera plants, plus over a dozen types of Aloes from southern Africa and Madagascar.
The "Cactarium" is a special greenhouse. Inside, you'll find even more cacti and succulent plants. Some of these are "caudiciform" species, which means they have thick, swollen root crowns. There are many types of Asclepiads, Aztecia, Gymnocalycium, Euphorbia, and Ferocactus. The Cactarium also has two amazing examples of Welwitschia mirabilis, which are very rare plants from the deserts of Namibia.
See also
In Spanish: Jardín botánico Moorten y Cactarium para niños
