Cacti

Alex's page of cactus-related things.

Some general stuff about cacti and other plants.

The Cactus & Succulent Plant Mall. This is the place to go for links to just about everything about cacti and other succulents, and it subsumes the list of links below!
CITES. Use the species database to list species as accepted by CITES. Choose Family="Cactaceae".
Amics dels cactus i altres succulentes. The Barcelona-area cactus club.
Cactus Center Club. A Spanish society.
Kew Gardens Database. Find any genus and any author.

Conservation

Very many cacti are threatened by extinction. The main reasons for this are land development for agriculture, housing, and roads. For many rare species, however, the main threat comes from unscrupulous collectors. Rare plants and animals are protected internationally by the CITES convention. For plants, there are mainly two levels of protection. The plants listed on Appendix I are acutely in danger. It is forbidden to remove any part of them from the wild, including seeds and cuttings. Quite a few cacti are on Appendix I. The plants listed on Appendix II are threatened. All other cacti are on this list. The plants may not be removed from nature, but seeds may. However, the CITES convention is supplemented by national laws, which often are stronger, in particular in the case of Mexico.

Most of us must admit that we are mainly plant-lovers, not scientific botanists. Most species of cacti are readily available from commercial nurseries and other growers. We should not pretend to need plant material taken from the wild.

However, cacti occur naturally only in the Americas. The cacti growing in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia are invaders and often pests that damage the local species or agriculture. Of course they are not protected. In fact, the CITES list specifically excludes naturalized species of Opuntia (prickly pear) from protection!