International Cactaceae Academic Network

The plant family Cactaceae is composed of about 127 genera with above 1,450 succulent and non-succulent species showing a spectacular range of growth forms such as arborescent, columnar, globular, barreliform, and articulated.

This family forms a monophyletic group into the large order Caryophyllales and seems to appear in South America about 30 Mya, corresponding to the Late Eocene, when a sudden global drop in CO2 probably conduced the origin of succulent, arid-adapted lineages.

Recent ideas support Cactaceae as having one of the highest and fastest diversification rates in the plant kingdom.