Funnel Cactus

Funnel Cactus
The Funnel Cactus, or Aspidistra Donax, is a common cactus that can be found in the Desert of the Dead.

General Information
The Funnel Cactus is usually a bright emerald green that gets lighter in color towards its base. The Funnel Cactus typically stands 12 to 18 inches off the ground. Its base is often only about 4 to 6 inches in diameter, but it fans outwards towards its top to a diameter of up to 20 inches.

Name Origin
The Funnel Cactus is simply named so due to its strong resemblance of a funnel, both in appearance and function.

Further Information
The Funnel Cactus grows in areas of the Desert of the Dead that receive almost no rain annually. Fortunately for the Funnel Cactus, its infundibuliform self can take in and hold water, even if there is no room inside of its pith.

The Funnel Cactus also possesses small cilia inside of its basin that move the water slightly, in order to prevent stagnation and, subsequently, growth of bacteria. This keeps the water that the Funnel Cactus stores clean and filtered.

The Funnel Cactus can easily survive over a year without any rainfall if its basin is full of water to begin with. It can even contract itself during times of extreme drought so that its surface area decreases, reducing photosynthesis and, as a direct result, loss of water.

In order to prevent harmful evaporation, the Funnel Cactus also contracts its upper portion into a spherical shape immediately after rainfall, preventing the water from being susceptible to rapid evaporation.

While the Funnel Cactus has extremely sharp spines that could easily be fatal upon consumption, the Funnel Cactus is a plentiful source of clean water. Its fleshy portions, however, possess very little nutritional value.