Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera trunctata)
Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera trunctata) flowers
The photo above shows flowers of a plant of the genus of cactus called Schlumbergera, which has six recognized species, originally native to the coastal mountains of southeastern Brazil where the flower is known as Flor de Maio (May flower) as the plants start blooming in the month of May, the flowering season of this genus in the Southern Hemisphere.
Now Schlumbergera genus of plants and their flowers can be found in most of the countries of North America, Europe and Australia and in New Zealand as they have been introduced to these areas for commercial cultivation for their colorful flowers that range from colors (and their shades) such as white, yellow, pink, orange, red, purple yellow or purple.
These plants, unlike the desert cacti, grow on trees as epiphytes or on rocks. They do not have leaves. What appear as leaves or greenish structures are their modified stems that have the green pigment chlorophyll capable of photosynthesis.
The earliest recognized English common name for plants of this genus is Christmas Cactus, and they are also known as Cacto de Navidad (Spanish), Cactus de Noël (French) and Weihnachtskaktus (German). The other commonly used names in some countries/ regions include Thanksgiving Cactus, Claw Cactus, Crab Cactus, Link Cactus and Holiday Cactus.
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