Cactus and Succulents, Are they Similar?
Cactus and Succulents are commonly mistaken as closely related groups of plants, however, the fact is that they are different from each other, though some common factors are there. Succulents are a loose grouping of plants and they can store water within their stems, leaves and roots. They are not a distinct plant family. There are almost 60 different plant families in succulents. This makes succulents a very diverse group of loosely connected plants.
Succulent plants store water in it’s thickend fleshy leaves or stems. The stored water and nutrients allow the plant to grow. Thus these plants get the name “succulents” which dericed from Latin word Sucus, it means “juicy.” These leaves and stems help these plants to thrive in difficult conditions. Normally, Succulents have glossy or leathery leaves, and the texture actually helps protect them from excessive moisture loss.
Cacti, on the other hand, are a clearly defined family of plants. All cactus are succulent plants, but not all succulents are cacti. The areoles help to identify the cactus from the other plants. These are small, round light or dark- coloured bumps on the surface of cactus and is where the spines, hairs and flowers grow from. If a succulent plant has areoles present, it is a cactus. If it does not have areoles, it can’t be a cactus.