The Other First Cactus - the Barbados Gooseberry
Since the beginning of life in so simple a form so long ago, it has tended to diversify. Ancient forms still thrive amongst, around, above, and below their descendants. It is fascinating to trace the heritage of a modern form back in time. Anthropology is interested in the history of human evolution, and botany (amongst many other fascinating facets) is interested in the evolution of the plants. So, let us ask, What was the first cactus? We might imagine that if we trace the family line of a cactus into the distant past that we would eventually arrive at something not very cactus-like. And so it is.
Life's history was not filmed and recorded from the beginning by camera crews and scientists. And so far at least, no cacti have been found in the fossil record. We are therefor left to use what is available in our time to piece together an understanding of the origins of the cacti. We must find our answer amongst the living cacti.
To gaze upon a cactus for the first time is to behold a succulent plant with great spines and no leaves. But not all cacti exactly fit this description, particularly as regards the absence of leaves. In the lowland Neotropics of Southern Mexico, the Caribbean, thence south to Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay thrive cacti that do not appear to be cacti at all. They are woody shrubs and trees with leaves. Succulent leaves, mind you. And amongst the leaves along the stem, the sharp and painful spines of cacti. These remarkable plants are in fact cacti. They are the Pereskia, and it is the Pereskia that resemble the presumed ancestral cactus. The resemblance is not just skin deep, as research about the metabolism and water-use of the Pereskia shows them to be true cacti.
In fact, the Pereskia were amongst the first cacti ever discovered. Around 1690, Charles Plumier, Royal Botanist for King Louis XIV, was on assignment in the Caribbean. In 1703, Plumier named the first Pereskia, calling it Pereskea aculeata. Rather remarkably, that is still its name today. It is also called the Barbados Gooseberry. It has pretty flowers that mature into attractive nourishing fruits.
So, although the first cactus ever described was a Melocactus from Jamaica, we may rightly consider the Barbados Gooseberry as the other First Cactus.
References used:
- Erika Edwards & Michael Donahue, 2006, Pereskia and the Origin of the Cactus Life-Form, The American Naturalist, Volume 167: No. 6
- Charles Plumier, 1703, Nova Plantarum Americanarum Genera, page 35
Edward Anderson, 2001, The Cactus Family
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Photos of Barbados Gooseberry: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/166500-Pereskia-aculeata/browse_photos
