Le Jardin des Cactus, in Sélestat (67) is a private collection of more than 1,600 cacti and succulents. Plants to discover with the five senses!

The view
Spirals, cones, fractals… Cacti offer some of the most beautiful natural geometric shapes!
Have you ever observed the drawing, sometimes close to perfect geometry, of cactus? Their white, yellow, red thorns? , such as Echinocactus or Notocactus. Or those formed by cactus ribs? In straight lines (Pachycereus), in curves (Cleistocactus samaipatanus Cristata or Cereus peruvianus Monstruosus), in spirals (Eulychnia castanea spiralis, Cereus forbesii Spiralis or Mammillaria perbella), in small nipples (Mammillaria) or larger (Copiapoa coquimbana)…
These forms allow them, like an accordion, to expand or retract according to the seasons, periods of rain or drought, without tearing. In short, to withstand high heat and store water.
Hearing
Yes, yes! Cacti can make noise... and music. An example? The rain sticks (or "waterfalls") traditionally made by shepherds in the region of Acatama, Chile, during transhumances, in the hope of attracting rain in this desert region. Created from Echinopsis chiloensis and Eulichnia acida, these sticks offer a soft, long-lasting crackle that gives the impression of being near a waterfall or under a shower.
Another example? The sound research of the American experimental music composer John Cage. In his "Child of Tree" (1975) or "Branches" (1976), he plays with the spines of an Echinocactus grusonii and other plants with a toothpick – strange sounds that he amplified. John Cage paved the way for several composers of electroacoustic music, such as the American Paul Rudy, who also used cacti for his "Degrees of Separation", awarded at the Bourges Festival in 2000. More recently: the German musician and DJ Gourski plays cactus before integrating electronic music. Some tracks to discover: "Cactus Trap", "Springtime", "Back Home" or the very dancing "Cactus Beat".
The sense of smell
Some cacti reproduce thanks to rejections, which grow at the bottom of the mother plant, on its coasts or at its top.
Others make flowers. To attract moths, be fertilized and turn into fruits and therefore seeds, the flowers of these cacti unfold aromas of lemon, vanilla, chocolate or other camphor. And sometimes you have to do it very quickly! So, Selenicereus grandiflorus or Trichocereus thelegona, whose flowers can reach 20 centimeters, live only one night.
Other night-flowering cacti need bats. They produce cabbage, leek, and even scab smells.
And some, in the families of Rebutia, Mammillaria or Echinopsis, which bloom in yellow, orange or red during the day, will develop a musty earth smell to attract insects seeking… humidity!
The taste
Some cacti are edible. This is the case of Opuntia ficus-indica and Opuntia matudae, racket cacti whose stems and fruits are part of the traditional cuisine in Mexico.
Their leaves are used in the preparation of the Salad of nopales (name of the leaves of these cacti), with tomatoes, coriander, onion, olive oil, lemon, chilli, avocado. Yum!
Touch him
While some needles are easy to see and are used by some musicians (read above), others are tiny, especially those of some Opuntia. At the slightest contact, they nest in tens in the skin at the fingertips, which must be removed with tweezers... and a large magnifying glass. To avoid, then!