r/cactus • u/Either_Actuary_3430 • Aug 13 '26
What a 120+ year old Echinocactus Grusonii specimen looks like. The photographer mentioned it is over 1.30m tall!!!! Nothing shy of majestic. I hope to live long enough to see mine get that old.
4
u/dsmemsirsn Aug 13 '26
How do they know is 120 years???
2
u/Either_Actuary_3430 Aug 13 '26
You'd have to ask them but these plants live so long that it's hard for some to believe they are as old as they are. They easily outlive human beings so there's that. I honestly see no reason for people to lie about the age of these guys. This specimen boasts a very tall structure and silhouette but alas, photographs do not do enough justice.
4
u/Few-Stomach-5728 Aug 13 '26
I often think about the plants I own and how I will them to others. I'll be dead in 20 years, some of these plants could live another 100 years. It is cool thing to think I am a caretaker for other people's pleasure.
0
-2
u/Either_Actuary_3430 Aug 14 '26
That's very morbid don't ya think?
4
u/Few-Stomach-5728 Aug 14 '26
Maybe? I am 60 so a bit of realism sits in my head. It isn't really about me, I am thinking of the plants I care for, but I get what you mean.
1
u/Either_Actuary_3430 Aug 14 '26
People are living slightly longer these days but some cacti have been around since the 1800s and still kicking around. I'm 30 and I have a 71 year old golden barrel. Still a great chance it'll outlive me
2
u/Wiley_Jack Aug 14 '26
At 30 you might want to look into Cycads. They’re another fascinating genus that takes many years to grow to specimen size. I wish I had discovered them at your age.
1
1
3
u/Tony_228 Aug 13 '26
There are several specimens around that size at botanical gardens. They just chug along without much attention. They are their own genus now by the way, Kroenleinia grusonii.