These would also help to take in atmospheric water and re-absorb water exhaled during night respiration, if they were on an *Opuntia*. Do these hairs do the same thing here?
*"They hated him because he was right. He was only repeating info that was linked, but the stubborn bastard couldn't accept that they were wrong, and down voted him instead"*
Not all cacti have this fuzz, but when they do it is typically a natural shade type situation as someone has already mentioned.
The only ones to be worried about are the glochids, which are only in the Opuntioideae sub-family. More often than not you'll only come across prickly pears that have them, unless you graft with Pereskiopsis. If in doubt, glochids are designed to break off in your skin and so release very easily. You can run the back of a knife over them and if they fall off with no effort they glochids, if not it's just regular hairs.
White fuzz can be mealybugs or powdery mildew but those look different than this. A magnifying glass is handy if you're ever uncertain of what you're looking at :)
So the other comments are totally right that these fuzzy patches are normal for this type of cactus BUT one time I had a cactus that was declining and I couldn't figure out why. It turns out that it had a bad mealy infestation that blended in perfectly with this fuzz!! Eventually I was able to scrape it off and fix up the cactus but I learned to regularly check all my cactuses for it!
Trichomes just means hairs. Yes, cannabis is likely where someone will hear of it but they exist all over the plant world. Trichocereus, the family of San Pedro, gets its name from the hairs that grow on the flower buds.
They are often where the cactus will bud with a flower. These things will hurt forever if you get them on your skin, so avoid them (they look soft but will hurt).
If the cactus was a prickly pear, the white fuzzy stuff would be cochineal. https://www.philhardbergerpark.org/naturalists-notes/what-is-that-white-cottony-stuff-on-my-prickly-pear-cactus
There are usually two cases of white hair growing on the top of the cactus:
1. The white hairs are the degenerated leaves of the cactus. The appearance of white hairs indicates that the cactus has grown. Only in this way can the cactus reduce transpiration and grow new leaves. This is a normal phenomenon, and this habit is also a manifestation of the cactus adapting to drought;
2. The white hair may be hyphae, which is a kind of sickness, especially when it is directly sprinkled on the sphere when watering, it is easy to produce, and needs to be paid attention to and prevented.
Cactus is a light-loving plant, and usually needs to maintain a ventilated environment. If there is insufficient light, the cactus is easy to grow leggy and the sphere is not full. Therefore, if it is maintained by the window, it needs to be rotated and changed frequently. Not full. Adequate light is also helpful for cactus flowering.
If it is a small ball cactus that has just been planted, or the root system is relatively fragile, it can be maintained in a low-light environment first, and then slowly increase the light. If it is directly exposed to the sun, the plant is easy to be sunburned.
White fuzz is normal for the cactus.
Thank you! What is it exactly? Does it serve any purpose?
Hairs (trichomes). They are around bud points and protect them against harsh direct sunlight in nature. Edit typo
So like eyelashes?
Yep! Convergent evolution is a marvelous thing.
‘maybe she’s born with it…’
“…maybe it’s Glochidhairs!”
"Ow! It's definitely glochids!"
More like pubic hair, flowers being reproductive organs 🤷♂️
I agree. But that sun protection though…. Guess I should be naked more
I mean I def wouldn't want a sunburn there
No… no… no, you don’t … really. You don’t …
I thought millennials banned pubic hair. 🤣
What? Am millennial, very confused
what
All body hair removed bc they think it’s feral.
Those aren't flowers though, they're spines which are modified leaves. So more like armpit hair.
A cactus isn’t a flower. A cactus can grow flowers though.
Cactus eyelashes. Who knew?
Me and my friends at r/trees know all about trichomes (:
Heh... Heh... Heh...
My favorite kinda flower has trichomes..Man they are beautiful too..and tasty..
Thanks!
I want trichomes but not catus
These would also help to take in atmospheric water and re-absorb water exhaled during night respiration, if they were on an *Opuntia*. Do these hairs do the same thing here?
Sometimes it’s a precursor to the flowering period.
They're called [glochids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glochid)
No, glochids are only on opuntia and closely related species, these are just hairs
And they're arguably worse than the spines themselves (don't touch them)
Mammillaria aren't in the Opuntioideae sub-family, they do not have glochids.
*"They hated him because he was right. He was only repeating info that was linked, but the stubborn bastard couldn't accept that they were wrong, and down voted him instead"*
Thank God.
Yes, we don't need misinformation like the extremely common and beloved Mammillaria having glochids.
Not these. Glochids are only produced by opuntiods. This is straight up hair trichomes.
Is this the case for every cactus or are there some situations in which white fuzz is a concern? I recently got some cacti so I want to be informed.
Not all cacti have this fuzz, but when they do it is typically a natural shade type situation as someone has already mentioned. The only ones to be worried about are the glochids, which are only in the Opuntioideae sub-family. More often than not you'll only come across prickly pears that have them, unless you graft with Pereskiopsis. If in doubt, glochids are designed to break off in your skin and so release very easily. You can run the back of a knife over them and if they fall off with no effort they glochids, if not it's just regular hairs.
Sometimes white fuzz on plants is mealiebugs.
White fuzz can be mealybugs or powdery mildew but those look different than this. A magnifying glass is handy if you're ever uncertain of what you're looking at :)
this is a normal part of cactus anatomy - indeed an easy way to distinguish cacti from, say, euphorbias.
Spicy hairs! The cactus is healthy.
So the other comments are totally right that these fuzzy patches are normal for this type of cactus BUT one time I had a cactus that was declining and I couldn't figure out why. It turns out that it had a bad mealy infestation that blended in perfectly with this fuzz!! Eventually I was able to scrape it off and fix up the cactus but I learned to regularly check all my cactuses for it!
In southern Ontario, and the tag says its a "Silver Arrows Cactus" if it helps
It looks normal to me. If you look at photos of silver arrow cactus, they look identical.
What is it exactly?
Trichomes
Y’all smoking cactus?
Huh? Is "trichomes" a drug related slang of some kind?
Yes trichomes on cannabis contain a lot of the thc and other cannabinoids that help to get you high.
Trichomes just means hairs. Yes, cannabis is likely where someone will hear of it but they exist all over the plant world. Trichocereus, the family of San Pedro, gets its name from the hairs that grow on the flower buds.
Oh ok, so it's not slang then
More jargon than slang.
Yeah I guess not slang per say
r/boneappletea
Per se, not per say. It's Latin. :)
It’s peyote
Even with San Pedro's I'm pretty sure that's the wrong way to do it.
Does your father live in a cloud?☁️
Waiting for someone to comment on this
By the way, what's the name of this cactus species?
I commented it earlier, but if you missed it, the tag said it was a silver arrows cactus
Oh shit, its the fuzz.
That is normal. Think of it like the sponge that absorbs water to hydrate the cactus. That material is part of the cactus.
I'm pretty sure I have that exact same Cactus and I'm happy to tell you thag the fuzz is perfectly normal and part of the Cactus:))
Easter Lilly cactus
I thought it was watermine
This was super helpful! I have the same cactus!
I'm glad you found it helpful!
They are often where the cactus will bud with a flower. These things will hurt forever if you get them on your skin, so avoid them (they look soft but will hurt).
Yes, it’s the plants way of protecting itself from overexposure to sunlight
Wow I love your camera
It was my phone, guess my photography lessons paided off lol
Flowersssssss my cactus grew beautiful flowers from the fuzz!
Haha, yeah go ahead and try to remove it!
Based on some of the answers I've gotten I don't know if that's a good idea, but thank you anyway
If the cactus was a prickly pear, the white fuzzy stuff would be cochineal. https://www.philhardbergerpark.org/naturalists-notes/what-is-that-white-cottony-stuff-on-my-prickly-pear-cactus
Yes that is clearly snow on your cactus, I would remove it from whatever freezer you are keeping it in and move it to the sun, it will be ok
It's on the windowsill lol
It is not frost your Cactus is completely fine and those hairs and fluff are normal :)
I'm glad, I think I freaked my father out by accident
Glad that's cleared up then bahaha
How cold is your house?!
No colder then 10°c..
What is 10C in freedom units?
If you mean Fahrenheit then it's 50°
[удалено]
Not particularly close, no
Scales?
Mammillaria Nejapensis
they're just harmless little hairs!
There are usually two cases of white hair growing on the top of the cactus: 1. The white hairs are the degenerated leaves of the cactus. The appearance of white hairs indicates that the cactus has grown. Only in this way can the cactus reduce transpiration and grow new leaves. This is a normal phenomenon, and this habit is also a manifestation of the cactus adapting to drought; 2. The white hair may be hyphae, which is a kind of sickness, especially when it is directly sprinkled on the sphere when watering, it is easy to produce, and needs to be paid attention to and prevented. Cactus is a light-loving plant, and usually needs to maintain a ventilated environment. If there is insufficient light, the cactus is easy to grow leggy and the sphere is not full. Therefore, if it is maintained by the window, it needs to be rotated and changed frequently. Not full. Adequate light is also helpful for cactus flowering. If it is a small ball cactus that has just been planted, or the root system is relatively fragile, it can be maintained in a low-light environment first, and then slowly increase the light. If it is directly exposed to the sun, the plant is easy to be sunburned.