A cactus is typically viewed as the ultimate hands-off, fuss-free, impossible-to-kill plant. So, you can imagine our horror ...

The largest genus in the cactus family (Cactaceae) is Mammillaria, and a very recognizable member is the twin spined cactus (Mammillaria geminispina). This small cactus has tiny tubercles ...

A cactus no bigger than a paperclip grows across the rocky eastern slopes of the Kaibab Plateau. Its thin, long spines ...

(Credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher) About a month after pollination, large, spiny, tennis ball-sized fruit begins to ripen on the many stems of the cactus. When ripe, the fruit will lose its spines ...