EASTER CACTUS

(Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri), popular spring-flowering cactus of the family Castaceae, with flattened stems, grown for its bright-red blossoms that appear about Easter time in the Northern Hemisphere. The related R. rosea is the so-called dwarf Easter cactus, a diminutive plant with fragrant rose-pink flowers in abundance. A period of cool temperature (10 C; about 50 F) during winter is essential to bring on the best flower buds. These epiphytic cactinative to rain forests of Brazil, where they grow perched on other plantsoften are considered as the genus Rhipsalis; they were formerly grouped with Schlumbergera species, the Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti.