TimV
Puritanboard Botanist
This one lives in Mexico. Not much rain in the north of that country, so Stenocactus multicostatus has (when older; this is one from seed planted 3 years ago) dozens of ridges, which you can see channel even a drop of water down to the plant's roots. So even a heavy fog will keep this plant alive and healthy, giving it a great advantage. It grows slow! This plant although three years in perfect (compared to wild) conditions is only the size of a quarter, and in an area of even moderate rain other plants would simply choke it out.
When there's lots of water the ridges get less pronounced, and more of the plant's surface is exposed to the sun, so it makes more food. But when there's no water the ridges help reduce surface area, and it preserves it's moisture while competing plants just die.
When there's lots of water the ridges get less pronounced, and more of the plant's surface is exposed to the sun, so it makes more food. But when there's no water the ridges help reduce surface area, and it preserves it's moisture while competing plants just die.
