Neobuxbaumia macrocephala facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Neobuxbaumia macrocephala |
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Cephalocereus macrocephalus F.A.C.Weber ex K.Schum. |
The Neobuxbaumia macrocephala is a very tall cactus that can live for a long time. It has a thick, column-like stem and can grow many branches.
Contents
Where It Lives
This special cactus only grows in one place: the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley in central Mexico. It likes to live in dry, rocky areas, like a desert, or in dry forests. You can find it at an altitude of about 1,700 meters (about 5,577 feet) above sea level.
What It Looks Like and How It Grows
The Neobuxbaumia macrocephala is a giant among cacti! It can grow to be between 7 and 15 meters (about 23 to 49 feet) tall. That's as tall as a four-story building! An adult plant can have anywhere from one to ten branches.
Flowers and Reproduction
At the very top of each branch, this cactus has a special reddish part called a cephalium. This is where its beautiful purple-red flowers grow. These flowers appear between May and June, which is at the end of the dry season.
The flowers of this cactus are mostly nocturnal, meaning they open at sunset (around 7 PM) and close in the morning (around 10 AM). This is because they are mainly pollinated by bats! Three types of bats, the Choeronycteris mexicana, Leptonycteris curasoae, and Leptonycteris nivalis, are very important for helping the cactus make seeds.
After the flowers are pollinated, fruits grow. These fruits ripen from June to August. Bats and different kinds of birds eat these fruits. When they do, they help spread the cactus seeds to new places.
Life Cycle
You can find many of these cacti growing together, usually between 130 and 200 plants in an area the size of a soccer field. Young cactus seeds and seedlings often start growing under the shade of other trees and shrubs. Some of these helpful plants include Pseudosmodingium multifolium, Lippia graveolens, Gochnatia hypoleuca, and Aeschynomene compacta. The cactus starts to produce its own flowers and seeds when it grows to be about 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) tall.
Ecology
This cactus has tiny living things called microbiota (like very small bacteria) that live on its stem and even inside the plant. Scientists think these tiny helpers might help the cactus grow, but they are still studying exactly how they work.
Conservation Status
The Neobuxbaumia macrocephala is listed under CITES Appendix II. This means that trade of this cactus is controlled. It helps make sure that people don't take too many of these cacti from the wild, so the species can survive and thrive for a long time.
See also
In Spanish: Neobuxbaumia macrocephala para niños
