Cacti native to Minnesota

It's springtime at the University of Minnesota Conservatory Greenhouse where I've been volunteering. Outside the door is a small terrace garden of cacti that survive the winters here in St. Paul. Among the residents of the terrace are three characters native to western Minnesota, near Buffalo Ridge and the high prairie plateau that stretches through the central plains of the Midwest.

Other non-native residents surviving in this south-facing sheltered spot are a few Mexican agaves, aloe, Colorado tree cactus, and lace cactus (Echinocerus reichenbachii).

Echinocerus, lace cactus

Our western Minnesota native:

Opuntia macrorhiza, paddle cactus
Opuntia fragilis, brittle cactus
Pelecyphora vivipara (formerly Coryphantha vivipara), ball cactus

Opuntia macrorhiza, native to Minnesota

Fragile cactus, native to Minnesota

Pelecyphora vivipara (formerly Coryphantha vivipara), ball cactus

Ball cactus, native to Minnesota

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I celebrate learning this about cycad plants

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Mobile indoor green wall

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Strung out in the greenhouse

The assignment for my four-hour volunteer shift at the University of Minnesota Conservatory greenhouse was clearly listed on a whiteboard, with my name attached. Since most of the tasks involved working with strings of overhead cables or air tubing, much of my shift was spent at the top of a ladder. Vining plants are limited to only a few of the many benches in the greenhouse. Steel cables are strung above the benches to support their growth. Because many plants grow in a small space, part of the challenge is to untangle and separate the vines so that they don't strangle each other. Not many of the vines are blooming at the moment, as it is winter. However, Thunbergia grandiflora is producing a few lovely blue flowers (its tendrils grow clockwise, hence the common name Bengal clockvine). It's a popular houseplant, but it has become an invasive weed in parts of the world, like Australia, especially around waterways. Thunbergia grandiflora; notice small brown scale insects sucki...

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