Smallest cactus species

The smallest cactus (family: Cactaceae) is the button-like Blossfeldia liliputana which when fully mature can measure just 10–12 millimetres (0.39–0.47 inches) in diameter. The spineless species grows in shale and rock crevices in the Andes mountains in northern Argentina and southern Bolivia.

The species is monotypic – i.e., it is the only species within its genus documented to date.

The spelling of its name is sometimes written also as B. liliputiana. In either case, its binomial is a reference to the fictional small people described in Jonathan Swift's 1726 book Gulliver's Travels.

They are often found growing in moist areas close to waterfalls, although they appear to be able to survive in extremely arid conditions too.

By contrast, the largest members of the cactus family are the cardón (Pachycereus), the biggest of which are native to Mexico, and saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea), native to southern USA and Mexico, both of which have been documented reaching up to 20 m (66 ft) tall and even beyond. The tallest living wild cactus found in recent history was a 19.2-m (63-ft) specimen of P. pringlei discovered by Marc Salak and Jeff Brown while hiking in Baja California in April 1995.