Cactus Identification Chart

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Quick cactus identification clues

Use these common visual clues to narrow down what kind of cactus you have.

Is it a cactus? Look for areoles

Every cactus has areoles — small cushion-like spots, often woolly, from which spines, new stems and flowers grow. Areoles are the defining feature of the cactus family (Cactaceae). Many succulents look like cacti but lack them. Spineless cacti such as Christmas cactus and bishop’s cap still have areoles, sometimes just as tiny dots or felt patches.

African milk tree (Euphorbia trigona), pencil cactus (Euphorbia tirucalli) and baseball plant (Euphorbia obesa) are all euphorbias, not cacti, despite their names and looks.

Stem shapes

Ribs or tubercles?

Look closely at the surface. Ribs are continuous vertical ridges, with areoles along their edges — typical of barrels and columns. Tubercles are separate nipple-like bumps, each topped by an areole, arranged in spirals — the hallmark of Mammillaria (pincushion cacti). Some cacti, like the chin cactus, have ribs broken into lumps. Counting ribs can help: bishop’s cap usually has five, the star cactus about eight, golden barrels twenty or more.

Spines, glochids and hair

• Straight spines — most cacti; radial spines spread around the areole and one or more central spines stick out.
• Hooked spines — a curved tip on the central spine, as in fishhook barrels and many Mammillaria.
• Glochids — tiny, barbed bristles in tufts, found in Opuntia and cholla. They detach easily and are hard to remove; use tape or tweezers, not fingers.
• Hair — long white hair-like spines, as in old man and powder puff cacti, which shade the stem.
• Spineless — forest cacti and some desert species have tiny or no spines.

Forest cacti vs desert cacti

Not all cacti live in deserts. Christmas cactus, Easter cactus, orchid cactus, rat tail and mistletoe cactus are epiphytes from tropical and subtropical forests, where they grow on trees. They have flat or thin stems, few or no spines, and prefer bright indirect light, more water and humidity than desert cacti. Mistletoe cactus (Rhipsalis baccifera) is the only cactus thought to occur naturally outside the Americas, in Africa and Sri Lanka.

Worked example

A houseplant has flat, bright green, jointed segments with small teeth along the edges, no spines and pink flowers in December. Choosing “Flat leaf-like segments” and “No real spines” narrows the key to Christmas cactus, Easter cactus and orchid cactus. The timing and pointed teeth point to a Christmas or Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera); rounded segment edges and spring flowering would suggest an Easter cactus instead.

Flowers as clues

Cactus flowers are short-lived but distinctive. Many columnar cacti flower at night and are pollinated by bats and moths (white flowers). Mammillaria flowers appear in a ring near the top, while Rebutia flowers sprout from the sides and base. Hedgehog cacti have green stigma lobes in the centre of the flower. Record the colour, position and time of year with a photo — it helps with a precise identification.

Getting a confident ID

• Photograph the whole plant, a close-up of the areoles and spines, and any flowers or fruit.
• Note the growth habit: solitary or clustering, upright or sprawling.
• Record where it grows (outdoors in which region, or as a houseplant).
• Ask a local cactus and succulent society or botanic garden — many run identification help.
• Plant labels in garden centres are sometimes wrong, especially for common names.

Some cacti are protected by law in the wild, and international trade in many species is regulated under CITES. Never dig cacti from the wild; buy nursery-grown plants.

Caring for the cacti you identify

Identifying the group is often enough to care for a plant well: overwatering desert cacti and underwatering forest cacti are the two most common mistakes. Use a free-draining gritty mix and pots with drainage holes for all cacti.

Limits of this key

There are around 1,500–1,800 cactus species. This key covers thirty common cacti seen in gardens, deserts of the American Southwest and houseplant collections, and identifies most to genus level. Hybrids, cultivars and young plants may not look like the descriptions.