old man cactusn.
/ˌəʊl(d) ˈman ˌkaktəs/, U.S. /ˌoʊl(d) ˈmæn ˈkæktəs/ A Mexican cactus, Cephalocereus senilis, covered with long grey hairs.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cactus and allies > [noun] > other cacti
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1845 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 19 Apr. 254/1 Pilocereus, or old-man cactus.
1847 R. Fortune Three Years' Wanderings China vi. 95 I had not seen them evince so much gratification since I showed them the ‘Old Man Cactus’ (cereus senilis) which I..presented to a Chinese nurseryman at Canton.
1900 Daily News 6 Sept. 3/1 Another singular product is Pilocereus Senilis, or ‘old man cactus’, from Mexico, the body of the plant being hidden by long grey hair.
1938 Amer. Home Jan. 38/1 (caption) Cephalocereus senilis, well named the old-man cactus, bears pink flowers.
1967 Ecology 48 531 The mature growth has long, thin, twisted spines (with the appearance of a ‘shaggy beard,’ hence the English vernacular ‘old man cactus’) bears the flowers and fruit, and is more slender than the immature growth.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1845