"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , Tumbleweed thisaccountnever
writes

"bigjon" wrote in message
. ..


I have several of what is in your pic, a "Christmas Cactus", but the one
I
ask about is not the same. It has individual "stems" 2 to 3.5 feet long
with large red flowers about three inches across - unless the "Christmas
Cactus" has larger varieties??

'christmas cactus' is a generic name, there are many many species and
hybrids of them, and I suspect that just from pictures it would be very
difficult to find the *exact* one.

I've only ever seen 'Christmas cactus' applied to
Zugocactus/Schlumbergia which has smaller and more tubular flowers than
the one pictured - in other words, I don't think it is a Christmas
cactus at all.

As its a popular name with no precise definition it can be appled to a wide
range of plants, a google even shows a reference to opuntia!!

This link is quite good
http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Christmas_cactus


The common holiday cacti (Thanksgiving Cactus, Christmas Cactus, Easter
Cactus) have many Latin names, but are closely related. They are all
cultivated plants, originating in the mountains north of Rio de Janeiro in
Brasil, South America.
Holiday Cactus Schlumbergera-hybrid:
Christmas Cactus, (Schlumbergera Bridgesii, Schlumbergera x buckleyi,
Epiphyllum x buckleyi).
Thanksgiving Cactus, Yoke Cactus, Linkleaf Cactus, Crab Cactus, Claw Cactus,
(Schlumbergera truncata - former Zygocactus truncatus).
Easter Cactus, (Schlumbergera gaertneri - former Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri).
Some Holiday Cacti are hybrids between Schlumbergera truncata and
Schlumbergera russelliana from about 150 years ago in England. The original
plants grow as epiphytes at elevations between 1000 and 1700 meters in the
Organ Mountains.
One flaw of the holiday cacti is that the joints of the plants are quite
fragile and can break apart if the plant is in poor health. The flower buds'
joints are especially easy to detach.
Not classified latin names:
Epiphyllum altensteinii, Schlumbergera truncata var. altensteinii,
Zygocactus truncatus var. altensteinii, Epiphyllum bridgesii, Epiphyllum
truncatum var. bridgesii, Zygocactus bridgesii, Epiphyllum delicatum,
Schlumbergera truncata var. delicata, Zygocactus delicatus, Epiphyllum
ruckeri, Epiphyllum ruckerianum, Cactus truncatus, Epiphyllum truncatum.

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Tumbleweed

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