{"product_id":"monstrose-peruvian-apple-cactus-cutting","title":"Monstrose Peruvian Apple Cactus Cutting","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCereus repandus\u003c\/em\u003e (SEER-ee-us reh-PAN-dus) (syn. \u003cem\u003eCereus peruvianus\u003c\/em\u003e), the plant most people know as the Peruvian apple cactus, is here in its monstrose form: a mutation that turns one growing point into many, so instead of the plain form's tall ribbed column it grows as a dense, knobby, largely ribless mass that thickens outward rather than up. No two monstrose stems branch quite the same way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe species comes from the southern Caribbean and the dry coasts of northern South America, from Aruba and the Antilles across Venezuela into Colombia, where the ordinary columnar form grows tall and opens large, night-blooming white flowers for bats. The genus name, Cereus, comes from a Greek and Latin word for wax, torch, or candle, after the plain form's tall, upright shape. The monstrose mutation does not come true from seed, so every monstrose plant in the trade, ours included, is kept going by cuttings taken off an existing monstrose mother.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery cutting we offer is cut from an actively growing point on a mature mother plant we grow, the same standard we hold every cutting in the catalog to, so what you root already has a head start over a fresh seedling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis listing is an unrooted cutting, 10 to 12 inches, a fresh, callused piece you root yourself. Like all our plants it ships bare-root, with no pot or soil. Monstrose growth is naturally irregular, so the exact shape, knobbing, and branching of the piece you receive will differ from the photos.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpecial note: this cactus is non-toxic to people and pets, and the ripe fruit of the ordinary form, the pitaya or Peruvian apple, is edible. Monstrose growth is unpredictable, and a monstrose specimen may flower and fruit only sparsely, if at all. However, we have had lots of fruit on our plants and the fruit is particularly flavorful. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Thoughtful Pricks","offers":[{"title":"10-12\"","offer_id":43570243436592,"sku":"CPA-MON-CUT-1012","price":85.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0691\/4877\/0352\/files\/monstrose-peruvian-apple-cactus-12inch-cutting.jpg?v=1788577835","url":"https:\/\/thoughtfulpricks.com\/products\/monstrose-peruvian-apple-cactus-cutting","provider":"Thoughtful Pricks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}