Bad-smelling Alkanet vs Climbing Cactus

Alkanna maleolens compared with Epiphyllum phyllanthus

Key Differences

• Bad-smelling Alkanet is Critically Endangered while Climbing Cactus is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bad-smelling Alkanet	Climbing Cactus
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Boraginales (Boraginales)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Boraginaceae	Cactaceae
Genus	Alkanna	Epiphyllum
Species	Alkanna maleolens	Epiphyllum phyllanthus

Evolutionary Relationship

Bad-smelling Alkanet and Climbing Cactus share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

Bad-smelling Alkanet

CR — Critically Endangered

Climbing Cactus

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bad-smelling Alkanet	Climbing Cactus
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bad-smelling Alkanet

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Climbing Cactus

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Australia, Brazil, and Colombia.

Bad-smelling Alkanet

The Bad-smelling Alkanet (Alkanna maleolens) is a species in the genus Alkanna. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Climbing Cactus

Climbing Cactus is a common name applied to several species in the cactus family Cactaceae that have adopted a climbing or scrambling growth habit, clinging to trees, rock faces, and other supports using aerial roots or woody stems, rather than the upright or columnar forms typical of desert-dwelling cacti. Notable climbing cacti include species of Selenicereus, Hylocereus, and Epiphyllum, found in tropical and subtropical forests of Central and South America and the Caribbean. These species are often epiphytic or hemi-epiphytic, growing from forest floor to canopy by scrambling up tree trunks or clambering over rocks in humid forest environments. Many climbing cacti produce large, spectacular nocturnal flowers pollinated by bats and hawk moths, which are attracted to fragrant, white blooms opening for a single night. The dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus) is the commercially most important climbing cactus, cultivated globally for its brightly colored, edible pitayas. Some climbing cactus species have very restricted natural ranges in tropical dry forests and coastal scrub and are threatened by habitat loss. Others have become invasive in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific where they were introduced as ornamentals or for their fruit.