Christmas cactus : unusual member of cactus family.
The Decembrist, also called Schlumbergera or Zygocactus, is one of the most unique cacti. It looks very different from typical cacti because it has no needles. Instead, it has many thin, connected stems that many think are leaves.
These plants are popular in indoor gardening because they don’t need much care and they bloom heavily in winter. This article will explain the features of the Decembrist, its different types, how to grow and propagate it, and the best ways to care for it.
The Decembrist has several names, both official and informal, because of its special ability to bloom in winter. Though its growing season is from November to January, its main flowering time is in December. That’s why many call it “Decembrist,” “Decembrin,” or “Christmas cactus.”
In science, its official name is Schlumbergera. For years in Russia, people called it Zygocactus, but around the mid-1800s, scientists around the world accepted the name Schlumbergera.
A scientist named Britton was the first to show that the Decembrist is related to other cacti. He did this in a creative way, long before the DNA molecule was known. He grafted the Decembrist onto a plant called Pereskia, one of the oldest cactus species.
Pereskia has real leaves, unlike most cacti. This experiment helped prove that the Decembrist is part of the cactus family.