Pereskia!

What's this? Why a cactus of course!

I would wager that I am probably the only cactus collector in all of Ontario that keeps a plant of the genus Pereskia in their collection. (Not the same as Pereskiopsis of course) My plant of Pereskia aculeata looks more like a rose with it's big leaves than what most people would consider a cactus. The flower is even reminiscent of a wild rose flower. Other species in the genus become more like small trees when they mature. I started this one from seed a few years ago. Obviously it's fairly fast growing. I thought it would make a very interesting and educational entry for public society shows.

The genus Pereskia is often considered to be the most closely related to the first precursor cactus species on the evolutionary tree. The plant in the picture has the pale yellow green leaves. The felty grey brown leaves poking out in the upper left are something else.