Australian Desert CactusThe Australian desert cactus as the name suggests can be found in Australia, which is considered the driest inhabited continent in the world. It goes without saying that a very large part of its land area is deserts. Its deserts have too hot temperature that is quite rough and harsh to almost all living things. The droughts are long that could last for years, and the rains come once in a blue moon. In fact, the Australian deserts have soils that are almost barren. If you think about it, the Australian desert cactus is one tough plant to be able to survive in one of the driest places on earth. Plants have different abilities on how they adapt to their environment. The succulent in the Australian deserts are excellent in adapting to their surroundings where the rainfalls in particular are unpredictable. Cacti can outlive any other plants by surviving without water for long periods of time. Such is the case with the Australian desert cactus that live up to its name as one of the desert plants that continue to thrive in these arid lands. The Australian cactus has been able to survive everything that the desert brings to them. After all, it is not all about growing in extreme dry conditions, but deserts may also experience fires and extreme rainfalls once in a while. The cold temperature at night can be unbearable as well. These all make these cactus one special plant to live through it all. Australian deserts take up about 44% of the total continental area. Gibson Desert, Western Desert, Simpson Desert, and the Great Victoria Desert are among the major deserts of Australia. Most of them are in the north-western and central parts of Australia. Although a huge part of these deserts are uninhabited, some parts have animals, plants, and even people living there. They have all evolved to withstand the challenges in the desert. Consequently, the level of survival in these deserts is also the reason why there are not as many cacti growing on them compared to other deserts in the world such as in the American deserts. The Prickly Pears in particular are included in the Opuntia genuses that are found in the deserts of Australia. In fact, history shows that some of the opuntia cacti brought terror to many Australians and animals way back due to their extremely sharp spines. These cactuses spread uncontrollably across the Australian continent, which were eventually wiped out by the Argentine moth. But this happened before. Nowadays, the Australian desert cactus along with other succulent is one of the treasures of Australia. Similar Posts _________________________________________________________________ Top of Australian Desert Cactus Listed under Desert Plants |