Cactus Varieties on St. John

Select Flora Acacia Amarat Anthurium Bamboo Baobob Bananas Bay Rum Beach Maho Black Caper Breadfruit Cactus Calabash Catch 'n' Keep Century Plant Chocolate Christmas Bush Coconuts Coffee Cotton Egg Fruit Fiddlewood Flamboyant Frangipani Genip Gooseberry Guavaberry Hog Plum Hot Peppers Jacquinea Kapok Lignum Vitae Mampoo Mango Maran Maubi Night Blooming Cerius Nothing Nut Pinguin Pistarckle Poui Sage Sandbox Seagrape Sea Puslane Sensitive Plant Starfruit Sugar Apple Sweet Lime Tamarind Torch Wood Wild Tamarind West Indian Locust White Cedar White Manjack

Pipe Organ Cactus

Pipe Organ Cactus (Cephalocereus) This tall light green cactus branches at the base and has vertical stems. The spines grow in long rows and are extremely formidable. They can pierce clothing and light footwear such as sneakers or sandals.

Bird's Nest

Some birds make their nests using the spines for support and protection against enemies.

Turk's Head Cactus

Also called Barrel Cactus, Pope's Head or Compass Plant (because they tend to tilt toward the south). They are round or barrel-shaped and can grow in hard, rocky, windswept, and sun-drenched environments where little else can survive. The small pink fruit is edible.

Paddle Cactus

Opuntia ficus-indica, locally called paddle cactus, prickly pear and nopal can be found on St. John cactus scrub lands. The fleshy paddles are edible once the spines are removed and are used in salads, soups and desserts.

Read Paddle Cactus Blog Entry 7/26/2010

suckers

Opuntia repens and Acacia westiana lie low on the ground and are known locally as suckers. The spines can be quite painful and hard to dislodge if you get stuck.

Read a true story about suckers (the names have been withheld to protect the innocent) click here