A cactus is any member of the plant family Cactaceae , native to the Americas. They are often used as ornamental plants, and some are also crop plants for fodder, forage, fruits, cochineal, and other uses. Cactuses are part of the plant order Caryophyllales, which also includes members like beets, gypsophila, spinach, amaranth, tumbleweeds, carnations, rhubarb, buckwheat, plumbago, bougainvillea, chickweed and knotgrass. Cactuses are unusual and distinctive plants, which are adapted to extremely arid and/or semi arid hot environments, as well as tropical environments as epiphytes or hemi-epiphytes. They show a wide range of anatomical and physiological features which conserve water. Their stems have adapted to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have become the spines for which cacti are well known. Cactuses come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. The tallest is Pachycereus pringlei , with a maximum recorded height of 19.2 m, and the smallest is Blossfeldia liliputiana , only about 1 cm diameter at maturity.

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