Curious About Cacti

PODCAST 169: CURIOUS ABOUT CACTI

RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 26TH, 2021

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LIVE, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE COME ACROSS A CACTUS BEFORE.  WHERE WE LIVE, IN NEW JERSEY, THE ONLY NATIVE CACTUS IS THE PRICKLY PEAR.  WELL, ALL THE WAY BACK IN FEBRUARY, WE GOT MAIL FROM 2 AWESOME LISTENERS WHO BOTH LIVE IN THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES AND HAVE PROBABLY SEEN MANY MORE CACTI THAN WE HAVE HERE IN NEW JERSEY, AND THEY WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM.

O:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

D:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

“HELLO, MY BROTHER AND I JUST STARTED LISTENING TO YOUR PODCAST ON OUR LONG DRIVE FROM CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA TO SUNDANCE, UTAH.  OUR FAVORITES WERE DIAERS, SINCE WE HAVE A BABY SISTER, WATERFALLS, AND UNICORNS!  ON OUR DRIVE WE THOUGHT OF A FEW THINGS WE’D BE CURIOUS ABOUT: CACTUSES, SOAP, QUICKSAND, AND GUM.  HOPEFULLY YOU CAN DO ONE OF THOSE TOPICS!  WE TOLD OUR COUSINS ABOUT THE PODCAST TOO.

FROM COLETTE, ELI, AND QUINN”

“HELLO MR. JACOB AND OLIVIA, MY NAME IS OLIVIA AND I AM 7 YEARS OLD.  MY MOMMY TURNS THE PODCAST ON FOR ME EVERY WEEK.  MY LITTLE SISTER, ABIGAIL, AND I LOVE TO GET CURIOUS WITH YOU!  WE LIVE IN ARIZONA.  THERE ARE LOTS OF CACTUSES AND ROCKS, SOME WITH CRYSTALS INSIDE!  MY MOMMY TOLD ME THEY ARE CALLED GEODES.  COULD YOU GET CURIOUS WITH US ABOUT CACTUSES OR ABOUT GEODES?  I HOPE YOU READ MY E-MAIL.  

THANK YOU FROM THE ARIZONA DESERT,

OLIVIA, ABIGAIL, AND THEIR MOMMY STEPHANIE”

O:  THOSE WERE A COUPLE OF SUPER DUPER E-MAILS.  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT CACTI THIS WEEK FOR COLLETTE, ELI, QUINN, OLIVIA, AND ABIGAIL.  

D:  AND, IT’S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN.  I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT CACTI.  IN FACT, I HAD TO LOOK UP THE PLURAL WORD FOR CACTUS JUST TO MAKE SURE IT WAS CACTI.  IT TURNS OUT THAT CACTI AND CACTUSES ARE BOTH ACCEPTED AS PLURAL VERSIONS OF THE WORD CACTUS.

O:  ALL I KNOW ABOUT CACTI IS THAT THEY ARE GREEN, THEY HAVE THORNS, AND THEY GROW IN THE DESERT.

D:  SAME HERE.  THAT’S THE EXTENT OF MY CACTI KNOWLEDGE.  LET’S LEARN MORE.  WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, HOW TALL IS THE TALLEST CACTUS PLANT CURRENTLY LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES?

D:  INTERESTING.  WHEN I THINK OF WHAT A CACTUS LOOKS LIKE, I DON’T REALLY THINK OF VERY TALL PLANTS.  I WOULD HAVE TO GUESS THAT MANY CACTI ARE NO MORE THAN JUST A FEW FEET TALL.  HOW TALL DO YOU THINK THE TALLEST CACTUS IS?  

O:  THE WORD CACTUS COMES FROM THE GREEK WORK KAKTOS.  

D:  AND, IN GREEK, THE WORD KAKTOS MEANS PRICKLY PLANT, AND THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE, BUT HERE’S THE PROBLEM.  WHEN USING THAT WORD, THEY WERE NOT DESCRIBING AN ACTUAL CACTUS, BUT ANOTHER PRICKLY PLANT, THE ARTICHOKE.  

O:  A CACTUS IS A PRICKLY PLANT THAT GROWS IN AREAS WHERE THE SOIL IS DRY AND ROCKY, LIKE THE DESERT.

D:  AT THIS POINT, YOU MAY BE WONDERING, HOW IN THE WORLD DOES A CACTUS GROW IN THE DESERT WHEN IT RARELY RAINS IN THE DESERT.  EVEN WHEN IT DOES RAIN IN THE DESERT, THE RAINWATER EVAPORATES VERY QUICKLY IN THE HOT DESERT SUN.  DON’T PLANTS NEED LOTS OF WATER TO LIVE?

O:  CACTI CAN DO THIS BECAUSE THEY ARE ABLE TO STORE LOTS OF WATER TO GET THEM THROUGH VERY LONG PERIODS OF DRY WEATHER.

D:  THEY ARE VERY GOOD AT STORING WATER BECAUSE THEY HAVE SHALLOW ROOTS, MAKING IT VERY EASY FOR CACTI TO ABSORB WATER QUICKY WHEN IT RAINS.  CACTI ARE ABLE TO STORE LOTS OF WATER, GALLONS OF WATER, IN THEIR STEMS, SO THEY ARE ABLE TO SURVIVE UNTIL THE NEXT RAINFALL WHICH MIGHT BE MONTHS AWAY.  THEY ALSO HAVE A WAXY SURFACE THAT ALLOWS THEM TO HOLD ON TO THE PRECIOUS LITTLE RAINWATER THEY GET.    

O:  YOU CAN EVEN TELL IF IT RAINED RECENTLY BY LOOKING AT A CACTUS’S TURGIDITY.

D:  TURGIDITY IS JUST A FANCY WORD TO DESCRIBE HOW SWOLLEN SOMETHING IS.  YOU CAN SEE A PHYSICAL CHANGE IN A CACTUS IF IT IS STORING LOTS OF WATER.  A CACTUS WITH LOTS OF WATER WILL LOOK BLOATED OR SWOLLEN.  

O:  ONE OF THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CACTI AND OTHER PLANTS IS THAT CACTI HAVE SHARP SPINES.  OTHER PLANTS HAVE LEAVES.

D:  IF YOU LISTENED TO OUR EPISODE A FEW MONTHS AGO ON PLANTS, YOU KNOW THAT LEAVES ARE SUPER IMPORTANT FOR PLANTS BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE FOOD FOR THE PLANT IN A PROCESS CALLED PHOTOSYNTHESIS.  WELL, THE CACTUS DOES QUITE WELL WITHOUT LEAVES.  THE SPECIAL SPIKY SPINES THAT GIVE CACTI THEIR DISTINCT LOOK SERVE LOTS OF IMPORTANT PURPOSES.  

O:  THEY HELP PROTECT THE CACTUS FROM HERBIVORES, OR ANIMALS THAT EAT PLANTS.  GETTING SPIKED BY A CACTUS DOESN’T FEEL GREAT, AND ANIMALS WILL LEAVE A CACTUS ALONE SO THEY DON’T GET HURT.

D:  THE SPINES ALSO HELP THE CACTUS ABSORB WATER, EVEN WHEN IT’S FOGGY.  IN FOGGY CONDITIONS, FOG LANDS ON THE SPINES.  THE FOG TURNS INTO WATER AND IS ABSORBED BY THE ROOTS OF THE CACTUS TO HELP THE PLANT SURVIVE.  

O:  THE SPINES EVEN HELP GIVE THE CACTUS PLANT SHADE.  THAT SHADE ALLOWS THE CACTUS TO RETAIN THE WATER IT’S STORING AND PREVENTS IT FROM DRYING UP IN THE HOT SUN.  

D:  SPINES ARE ALSO CRITICAL IN A COOL PROCESS CALLED PROPAGATION.  SOMETIMES, THE SHARP SPINES ON A CACTUS WILL GET DETACHED FROM THE PLANT.  THIS CAN HAPPEN ON WINDY DAYS, FOR EXAMPLE.  THOSE SPINES CAN LAND SOMEWHERE ELSE AND ACTUALLY GROW INTO A NEW CACTUS PLANT. 

O:  MANY PLANTS DON’T LIVE VERY LONG.  THE RESILIENT CACTUS PLANT CAN LIVE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.                  

D:  THEY ARE ABLE TO LIVE SO LONG BECAUSE THEY CAN SURVIVE IN MANY DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS, THEY ARE INCREDIBLE AT STORING WATER, AND THEY HAVE A BUILT IN MECHANISM TO PROTECT THEMSELVES.  

O:  I HEARD THAT YOU CAN DRINK THE WATER FROM THE CACTUS PLANT TO HELP SURVIVE IN THE DESERT IF YOU NEED WATER.  IS THAT TRUE?

D:  IT IS, BUT IT’S A BIT MORE COMPLICATED THAN YOU MIGHT THINK.  THE WATER STORED IN A CACTUS PLANT IS THICKER THAN THE WATER WE DRINK.  IT DOESN’T TASTE GREAT.  IT’S VERY BITTER AND CONTAINS LOTS OF ACIDS AND ALKALOIDS.  THAT MEANS THAT YOUR KIDNEYS WOULD HAVE TO WORK REALLY HARD TO FILTER CACTUS WATER TO KEEP YOU SAFE.  

O:  THE GROSS TASTE OF CACTUS WATER ALSO HELPS CACTI SURVIVE BY KEEPING THIRSTY ANIMALS AWAY.

D:  SO, IF YOU FIND YOURSELF IN THE DESERT AND YOU ARE DESPERATE FOR WATER, DRINKING CACTUS WATER WOULD PROBABLY BE A GOOD IDEA, BUT YOU’RE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO ENJOY DRINKING CACTUS WATER.  

O:  MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF CACTI ARE ALSO EDIBLE, SO THEY CAN BE EATEN.

D:  THERE ARE PLACES, LIKE PARTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, WHERE EATING CACTUS PLANTS IS COMMON.  

O:  WHEN PEOPLE EAT A CACTUS, THEY EAT THE PADS AND JUICE OF THE CACTUS, NOT THE SPINES.

D:  OF COURSE.  EATING THE SPINES DOESN’T SOUND LIKE IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA.  THE PADS AND JUICE OF A CACTUS ARE HIGH IN FIBER AND HAVE VITAMINS LIKE VITAMIN C.  THEY ARE ALSO LOW IN CALORIES.  THEY ARE DEFINITELY A HEALTHY FOOD OPTION.  THEY ARE OFTEN FRIED, BOILED, OR SERVED IN SOUP OR SALAD. WOULD YOU EAT A CACTUS?  I THINK I WOULD TRY IT.  OKAY OLIVIA, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  HOW TALL IS THE TALLEST KNOWN CACTUS PLANT LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES TODAY?

O:  IT IS 45 FEET AND 3 INCHES TALL AND IT CAN BE FOUND IN ARIZONA.  

D:  IT IS A SAGUARO CACTUS, WHICH IS THE TALLEST CACTUS SPECIES.  THE TALLEST SAGUARO CACTUS EVER MEASURED WAS A STUNNING 78 FEET TALL, BUT IT WAS KNOCKED OVER DURING A WINDSTORM ALL THE WAY BACK IN 1986.  I HAD NO IDEA THAT CACTI CAN GET THAT TALL.

O:  LEARNING ABOUT CACTI, OR CACTUSES, WAS SO MUCH FUN. 

D:  IT SURE WAS.  BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE FOR THE WEEK, AND THE YEAR, WE WANT TO SAY THANK YOU.

O:  THANK YOU TO OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTER, HOLLY L.

D:  A BIG THANKS TO HOLLY FOR HELPING TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST.  FOR HER SUPPORT, SHE GETS LOTS OF GREAT EXTRAS AND SHE KNOWS WHAT WE HAVE PLANNED FOR EPISODES MONTHS FROM NOW.  

O:  WE ALSO WANT TO THANK USERNAME SALLYJANE1000 FOR THE 5 STAR REVIEW.

D:  IT SAYS “GREAT FOR ROADTRIPS!  WE LOVE LISTENING IN THE CAR AND LEARNING DURING ROAD TRIPS!”  

O:  LOTS OF OUR LISTENERS ENJOY LISTENING TO US ON LONG CAR TRIPS.  WE HAVE OVER 2 DAYS WORTH OF EPISODES FOR YOU TO ENJOY.  THAT’S MORE THAN 48 HOURS OF LEARNING.  WOWSERS!

D:  HOWEVER YOU LISTEN TO US, WE ARE SO GLAD YOU ARE LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.  WE WANT TO WISH ALL OUR LISTENERS A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.

O:  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

D:  WE HOPE 2022 WILL BE YOUR BEST YEAR YET.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  169 - CACTI

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB COLLETTE, ELI, QUINN, OLIVIA, AND ABIGAIL FOR THE PRICKLY POKEY EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION.  JOIN US NEXT WEEK WHEN WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT GLOW IN THE DARK FOR LISTENERS IN OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.