Staff Answer
Apr 28, 2021 - 01:00 PM
That's a great question!
Peruvian old lady cactus and old man of the Andes cactus differ on a few points. These are:
1) Old man cactus grows three feet taller to a maximum of 10 feet in the wild. The old lady cactus only gets to be seven feet tall in the wild.
2) Old man cactus has yellowish spines that poke out from its silvery hair, while old lady cactus doesn't.
3) This one may be just a taxonomic point for nerds, but old lady cactus is in the genus Espostoa while old man cactus is in Oreocereus.
4) Finally, the most important difference is the flowers. Old lady cactus has giant cream colored flowers. These flowers are rare and only open at night. Meanwhile, old man cactus has tubular red flowers that are much smaller, more common and open during the day.
Under all that hair though, it is tough to spot these differences. I hope this helped!
Peruvian old lady cactus and old man of the Andes cactus differ on a few points. These are:
1) Old man cactus grows three feet taller to a maximum of 10 feet in the wild. The old lady cactus only gets to be seven feet tall in the wild.
2) Old man cactus has yellowish spines that poke out from its silvery hair, while old lady cactus doesn't.
3) This one may be just a taxonomic point for nerds, but old lady cactus is in the genus Espostoa while old man cactus is in Oreocereus.
4) Finally, the most important difference is the flowers. Old lady cactus has giant cream colored flowers. These flowers are rare and only open at night. Meanwhile, old man cactus has tubular red flowers that are much smaller, more common and open during the day.
Under all that hair though, it is tough to spot these differences. I hope this helped!
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