This Cactus Eats Lava For Breakfast

These prickly pioneers turn barren landscapes into lush habitats ready to be populated by other plants and animals. This is the magma-munching Lava Cactus.
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CREDITS
Created by Dylan Dubeau
Executive Producer, Director, and Director of Photography: Dylan Dubeau
Host: Tasha The Amazon
Editors: Collin Sideris, Jim Pitts and Cat Senior
Producer: Andres Salazar
Writer: Lauren Greenwood
Camera Operator: Colin Cooper
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Exploring the World of Plants and Fungi.

[@Forever_Rayne]

It's fascinating how a single species of plant can contribute in such a great way to the ecosystem.

[@alexcisneros2980]

Fr. These cactus are the homies. They're literally responsible for everyone else's survival and even sacrifice themselves as food in the end. 😔✊

[@sirreginaldfishingtonxvii6149]

I think we can learn something from this cactus. As people, in a metaphorical sense, I mean.

[@AdventuresAlberta]

EAT MEAT NOT PLANTS! Plants are more important, can't have the meat with out the plants.

[@kinggecko503]

@@AdventuresAlberta Whether you eat plants or meat is beyond me, but it's more energy efficient to eat plants. It's why ecosystems tend to have proportionally a LOT less carnivorous animals than herbivorous animals since only ~10% of the energy in one trophic level (say cows) actually goes to the next level (people in our case).

[@benediktk.8228]

However i'm pretty sure they aren't the only pioneer species of plants over there, but they may be the most crucial one.

[@Kiyoone]

Love how she talks about the casual phallic shape of this cactus: "growing in shapes that make your grandmother blush"😂🤣nice

[@CallMeJamezCuzDatzAGiantPeach]

Have you noticed that she’s always talking about, “grandmother blushing shapes”?

[@bradkeen1973]

I love it too.

[@valeria-militiamessalina5672]

How moronic, like she's living in Victorian England.

[@BlitheApathy]

I guess that's why they call it a "succulent".

[@ThemissingJem_09]

😂😂

[@NugatoryCheckMate]

This cactus not just lives and thrives in a very unlikely place, but also prepares the soil for other life forms to do the same. That reminds me how we are all connected, and you never know how your words and actions can pave the way somehow for others to find healing and enjoy life. Super inspiring ✨

[@ahsoka_polo]

Could thrive on venus

[@qreepyQT]

Everything on earth is perfectly guided and balanced, yet hundreds of millions of people claim that there is no objective guidance for us

[@mom.left.me.at.michaels9951]

Keystone species! Literally a necessity for the ecosystem to exist.

[@person8064]

​@@qreepyQT tell that to climate change lol

[@qreepyQT]

@@person8064 if i draw a perfect circle and you come and throw ketchup on it, it doesnt change the fact that i drew a perfect circle. Manmade climate change doesnt challenge any statements i made.

[@sadia6503]

It's always impressive seeing plants that help with succession because holy smokes what plant wants to live in these conditions, lava cactus are out there working hard and helping so many other species

[@skeepodoop5197]

"Lava cactus" sounds more like something you'd find in a Fantasy setting than real life... But yet the cactus lava's anyways, because lava cacti don't care what humans think is impossible.

[@frostincubus4045]

Reality is sometimes just as, if not more, weird than fiction

[@Username-le4eq]

Fiction is based in reality

[@raccoonchild]

@@frostincubus4045 Always, my friend. Always.

[@It-Will-All-Be-Okay-I-Promise]

Despite all known laws of aviation..

[@BushidoBrownSama]

Definitely sounds like something in a game that has flavor text.

[@jacobbrowning3804]

We need a lava cactus-inspired Pokémon.

[@navilluscire2567]

Hhhmmm... *Kaktuva* .... *Magmati* ....Uuuhh.... *Cactoltenus?* I dunno. Just having a bit of fun spitballing some possible names for such an awsome concept!

[@chilleroftheknight]

@@navilluscire2567 you put a lot of thought into this. Huh? I like that.

[@rubya.p4437]

My first thought lol, the very first Fire/Grass pokemon

[@blackcitadel37]

Lavadick, i choose you

[@jessicagalvin4598]

We can give it a signature move called Lava Spines, which is the grass-type equivalent of Scald. It’s cool to have non-fire moves that can cause burns.

[@LKRBooks]

2:36 Its cool that y'all kept the raw footage of this animal eating a cactus. Exactly what they sound like when eating.

[@lasercraft32]

Um... I'm pretty sure that wasn't the actual sounds it was making, that was clearly human noises for the sake of the joke.

[@aarash6982]

​​@@lasercraft32 that was the joke bro, sarcastically saying that's exactly how they sound like

[@lasercraft32]

@@aarash6982 Gosh darn it... The internet has ruined me. I'm too used to idiots saying stupid things and being completely serious about it rather than joking. Now I feel stupid.

[@blessedbeauty2293]

- 2:48 "Owe, Owe, Owe" 😂😂😂 🐐🐏

[@Arthion]

Gotta say, I'm curious if the lava cactus could be beneficial to introduce elsewhere on other volcanic islands or if they would be more detrimental as an invasive species as they seem to speed up the natural breakdown of the basalt lava into soil.

[@dischord1991]

It would be detrimental. It would speed up the break up into soil but would alter the habitat change cycle and taking the place of native plants that would do the same thing but slower

[@chinesenoodles8005]

It might not be detrimental as these are very slow growing plants, unlike opuntias they wouldn’t really be invasive but still not a good idea as it could upset the balance of other ecosystems.

[@Dragrath1]

@@dischord1991 Yeah there are various plants which perform the role of breaking down igneous rocks I think there is a somewhat infamous example of introducing a lava colonizing lupine from Alaska onto Iceland which seriously backfired. As such concern is fully warranted against introducing species without comprehensive investigation though It does raise a question about whether a new uncolonized islands would be worth colonizing.

[@cathycat4989]

Generally bad idea. Unless we're talking something extremely controlled, introductions like that can easily backfire. There have been cases of using insects that only eat one plant and starve without it to remove invasive plants from habitats, but that's the edge case. Basically, unless humans control every individual or all of the non-native plants/animals will die under specific circumstances, we shouldn't introduce species where they don't belong. That's how you get nutria rats tearing up the levees around New Orleans and my friends and neighbors having to either evacuate or grow gills.

[@XSemperIdem5]

I'm always nervous about any talk of introducing non-native species. We saw what happened with kudzu in the U.S.

[@SkywardShoe]

If you want an example of another animal that does like a prickly snack, look into Javalina. They munch down prickly pear cactus spines and all. It's really funny to see a cactus leaf with a massive bite taken out of it.

[@davidegaruti2582]

Also camels , those guys just munch down on them as if it where salad

[@indianmikoyangurevichbilal2062]

@@davidegaruti2582 and then we eat the camel as Steaks

[@beastmaster0934]

And desert tortoises too.

[@joerivas9847]

Yeah those pesky porcines!!!! The wild burros here in the Imperial valley, ca. pull the spines out with there teeth to get at the flesh.

[@pissbaby6849]

Bro the babies are so cute!!!

[@Moribus_Artibus]

Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Tracheophytes Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Eudicots Order: Caryophyllales Family: Cactaceae Subfamily: Cactoideae Tribe: Echinocereeae Genus: Brachycereus Species: B. Nesioticus

[@maciejas2471]

Okay Conseil

[@overlordgamingog9231]

"Growing in shapes that will make your grandmother blush..." 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@JD-zp4vn]

It’s always a treat to know something new. Here I thought sea creatures living in undersea volcanoes was the weirdest things to live, now volcanic cacti is added to my list.

[@werwar27]

you mean those metalfoot snails? shocked me too

[@JD-zp4vn]

@@werwar27 very bizarre world we live in

[@bigsmall246]

You should check out deep sea brine pools. They're like underwater lakes (think SpongeBob)

[@lilBabyBornInCalifornia]

why do i feel this was made for 8 year olds? jesus christ, how dumb do they have to dumb it down?

[@Mortthemoose]

Yes, I've seen a video about those. Very strange! And extremely deadly! ​@@bigsmall246

[@linnywines8014]

I wasn’t expecting to learn about big horned sheep in this episode, but it was a nice surprise

[@fiberpoet6250]

Me too that was funny watching it headbutt the cacti

[@RS-ny8my]

Makes sense. Big-horned sheep and big-horned cactus stems.

[@Daemorion1]

😊😊😊

[@eliwes8220]

Very cool video… but we can’t skip over the part “growing in shapes that will make your grandmother blush” lol 😂

[@DelRae]

It does feel a little unnecessary considering this isn’t really a special feature to these cacti.

[@greenstar120]

@@DelRaeit’s called a joke and it was funny lmao stfu

[@selwynandrews7716]

​@@DelRaebut its the shape they grow in. Thats seems like a pretty common amd important part of any description.

[@w8stral]

Uh grandmothers... stopped blushing about 40 years ago... After all, that is why they ARE Grand MOTHERS...

[@DelRae]

@@selwynandrews7716 when you imagine a cactus you imagine dick shaped. Thats the default cactus shape, it’s not special to point it out is what I meant. Its colors and clustered pattern when it grows seems like something more impactful to point out. reminds me of a reef

[@slick_rickgaming1102]

Pokemon: Fire beats grass Lava cactus: Hold my roots

[@jodiac]

This is so cool! I love the yellow color and the flowers these have, especially when they’re the only color in between nothing but rocks. The ram clip was hilarious btw!!!

[@lilBabyBornInCalifornia]

are you 12? or are you a girl?

[@HilPwXSierra]

@@lilBabyBornInCalifornia 🤨📸

[@KombuchaBuzzed]

That ram clip was awesome! I didn’t know they did that. 😄

[@OscarGreenworth]

This actually helps me flush out part of my D&D world. I’m happily surprised I found this video.

[@yssej]

“Growing in shapes that will make your grandma blush” is crazy work

[@davecrupel2817]

0:06 "growing in shapes that would make your grandmother blush" BRO! 😂😂

[@melodyparra2960]

Whoever did the sound effects for the bighorn sheep when he was banging his horns on the cactus good job very good job

[@xanbeth]

This is the kind of stuff I wish I learned as a kid, this is interesting, this is fascinating a Cactus that thrives on cooled lava it almost sounds like a plant from another world.

[@Merrickle]

3:29 sick double dive in the background

[@bigstackingduckxxx1030]

Thought I was the only one to notice😂

[@logansymmes2193]

Cocktus isn’t real, it can’t hurt you. Cocktus:

[@danielhill2318]

Iv been watching y'all for years thank you for the fun and educational videos

[@animalogic]

Thanks for sticking around, Daniel! :)

[@chi8939]

Amogus

[@idraote]

All those cacti seem to represent a hearty meal for several species. Here in Italy we have imported the prickly pears and once you have peeled them... goddess aren't those fruits absolutely delicious... Alone or with Parma raw ham.

[@eisflamme2438]

Thats not lava, thats lava rock.

[@AGKyran]

Exactly.

[@strekozkaplays]

🙄

[@kahnfu-zhin8627]

Definitely subscribing for more “Tasha the Amazon”! Sista Science got style!

[@Hassaan911]

It just shows how this planet can easily self-health from natural disasters

[@Nzzertral]

Really curious to see what a post human world would look like after recovery

[@connorericson]

@@Nzzertral you would not see it if one you died two there were no more human on the planet

[@Nzzertral]

@@connorericson did you have a stroke typing that?

[@samuelhuff3427]

@@Nzzertral I hope that my soul stays away from humanity to see the end of humanity. Cause I bet it would love to see a post human world after it’s healed

[@SpeedKing..]

@Lovesongs M. it's easy for the plant 🤷

[@jayAAlves]

this is the most hardcore plant I've ever heard of, so cool!

[@cupidok2768]

How about eat snow cactus

[@Polymerata]

I'd love to touch it and feels the hardnesses

[@MrSpazmonkey92]

Super interesting, well spoken, brilliantly put together and highly informative! What a great KZbin channel!

[@kalmage136]

This is so interesting, I love these kinds of videos. Where plants are such an important factor to creating the foundation of an environment. This is why I got so interested in biology. I love nature & especially plants with a huge importance & history.

[@EmmaSenshi]

It'd be cool to see a Pokémon based on this, a Grass/Fire type.

[@potatobird52]

I feel that it’s more likely a fire grass type would be chili pepper, but neat idea nonetheless!

[@fandroid6491]

And that Pokemon would look like... well I can't say it

[@shaundenehy4681]

I want to know how their seeds get to the new lava feels.

[@massimookissed1023]

Maybe birds & other cactus fruit eaters pooping them out. The seeds are in those red fruit, so they're not likely to be blown by the wind.

[@RaizerZ]

Seeds don't have feelings.

[@user-nf1bz3sn4z]

@@RaizerZ joe mama 😂😂😂😂😂 Yeah , that joke is overly used ....just like your mom .

[@aguamalone7615]

Grateful to have been to the Galapagos 3 times now (even witnessing the eruption on Isabella in 2018), and loved seeing these on hikes across the barren lava fields

[@argolake8623]

Now that sounds like a grass/fire-type Pokémon!!

[@Talushallux1]

Wow! I have known giant tortoises, iguanas, giant albatrosses and other rare fauna, but never knew there's a lava eating cactus, on Galapagos! When I retire from my medical practice, Galapagos is on my must see list. Thank you floralogic for presenting this!

[@emmaanderson8083]

You should do juniper berries, edible and non edible. I’ve always found it fascinating of why so many people want the edible ones

[@themuffinman4044]

Yeah they taste ghastly lol

[@TheRasvic]

So let me get this right, u wonder why ppl only choose the edible ones?

[@apdroidgeek1737]

Probably cuz they’re edibles

[@maximilian6829]

For gin that’s why

[@HayTatsuko]

Because gin, and as flavoring in some food recipes. Juniper also goes well as an ingredient in India Pale Ales because it hits similar pine and citrus notes to those present in that style of beer.

[@paulmorgan1009]

Thanks another great episode Tasha!

[@jasebrooks5983]

Great episode! The flowers on those cacti are awesome! Maybe an episode on cactus flowers and/or night blooming flowers.

[@bromeliad9683]

The Galápagos Islands continue to surprise me when it comes to variety of life.

[@thepeff]

KZbin: New Animalogic video Me: Nice KZbin: It's Floralogic Me: Hell yeah!

[@applemix6348]

In my next life, I hope God makes me as a Lava Cactus so I can make grandmas blush.

[@user-wj9jm1ox8i]

What?

[@evangelionmusic3946]

This would be the perfect Fire/Grass Pokémon

[@Spawn256]

Great episode. Laughing at the ram scene made my day 🤣

[@mirrlamp]

I own dozens of cacti and thought I knew quite a bit about them but had no idea about these. Really interesting video and you explained it so well making it easy to understand. Thank you!

[@WhuDhat]

What is your favorite variety?

[@sadafdavre1147]

Now who's gonna be brave enough?

[@TheJudiBambiPurrsParadox]

I lived in Tucson, Arizona for 32...we have incredible cactus there. All these and more.

[@aisadal2521]

Now that is one badass cactus! 😄🤙

[@KjSucksAtGames]

Badass? More like baddildo

[@explodingdynamite7319]

So Close!

[@missheadbanger]

Very fascinating, I didn't even know that the Galapagos islands has cacti. This channel has taught me that plants can be just as fascinating as animals are. I can't wait to watch your next video, I also love your hair.

[@Dragrath1]

Yeah it is news to me too but based on the geology of the hotspot it doesn't surprise me all that much after all one trait about the Galapagos island hotspot chain that is unique as far as I know is that the hot spot track at one point ~50 Ma or so crossed over South America Much like Yellowstone is doing in North America right now which means that when the hotspot crossed over onto the other side of South America and began building islands again some 30 million years ago you had a far more direct route for terrestrial species whether plants or animals to jump islands so long as they can establish a viable population. Cacti are one of the lineages of plants that evolved in South America during its relatively long interval of isolation so they as desert adapted plants would be a prime candidate to colonize the islands thanks to the hotspot lying at the dry latitudes where tropospheric convection is downwelling very dry air from the top of the troposphere meaning moisture is scarce.

[@apdroidgeek1737]

Galapagos has everything

[@dafe480]

Yeah, lots of cacti! Was gonna comment about candelabria and the other cactus that I had no idea of the name (thanks floralogic), but I knew they grew super tall with a stem woody like a tree 👌 The Galapagos have lots of other things to offer that most people don't find out till they visit.

[@al.m765]

There are cacti that grow in tropical rainforests and cacti that grow in the cold in Canada too!

[@Mlogan11]

It's awe inspiring to see the recycling mechanisms of the planet.

[@Glitch_Online]

Just found this, loving it. looking forward to more :)

[@renejr2296]

"Growing in shapes that would make your grandmother blush" 💀🤦🏾‍♂️...l...o...l

[@joana8474]

Please, next time do Borrachero plant (I think it´s called in english) here we know them as "Floripondios" By the way I love your videos, they inspire me to learn and draw about more types of plants!!

[@growthyselph]

Great content, very informative. Thanks! 🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@peacetoall1858]

I just discovered your channel. I'm really enjoying learning it.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

This seems so crucial for the early days of earth going from geological activity with bare rock and no soil, to living breathing ecosystems with soil and life 🧬🤟

[@dafe480]

Omg!!!! Thanks for talking about Galapagos, Ecuadorian proudness

[@chellyman]

You had me laughing really hard @ 2:37 with the audio effects.

[@tomlineberger]

Very interesting! Thank you!

[@hokostudios]

Oh, wow, how cool! Kind of curious how the cacti initially establish themselves on recent flows. Guess I'm gonna have to go do some reading later!

[@SomethingSeemsOff]

More plant videos!!! I love all plants :)

[@hoodrasheed1617]

Do u also hug trees ?

[@darkknight04299]

@@hoodrasheed1617 ѕo?

[@atis9061]

Well-done. I love this series, even more than the animal, I love plants!

[@GalenlevyPhoto]

I collect cacti and never knew about that. Amazing! Thank you for sharing. ❤️

[@da_ostrichyeet7999]

Amazing video! Can you talk about some giant trees? Like Douglas firs, Sequoias, Redwoods, Eucalyptus etc…

[@sciencenerd7639]

The lava cactus...Kingdom Plantae's answer to Priapulida

[@tvviewer4500]

I use to tell my students about these cacti. I hope they listened.

[@foliagecove355]

I learn something planty new today 🥰thanks for sharing 🌱

[@RSN_Charizard_Op]

YAY! we Love Tasha! Amazing hair as always!

[@Isaac-rd6wf]

Ive been pretty interested in the loon recently, i think it would be pretty cool if yall could do an episode on them

[@caseyrose44]

How amazing ,thanks for this video ❤

[@Huzabul]

That is soooooooo cooooooool, this one plant evolved by itself to be a unique, powerful, terraforming technology

[@benmcreynolds8581]

Could you cover the complexity and details of "Mistletoe" ~ I just briefly saw that it's actually a entire category of plants. That there is all sorts of different kinds all over the world. Not just the "bad one we hear about growing up to not eat" and you could cover the interesting relationship of it's connectivity with the tree's, without it being harmful to the tree. It's nutrients it holds so it provides a neat ecological niche for providing for many critters in the ecosystem.

[@wouterbos4485]

Are they using the lava itself or are they using the basalt to gain their needed materials? And is it known how this cactus is spread lava biomes cause I don't think birds/insect/ other animals would go willing in this biome to spread this colonizer.

[@massimookissed1023]

Birds can fly over barren rock, pooping out seeds as they go. Similarly, if these cacti are growing in isolated spots in the rock, the iguanas will have to walk over barren rock to reach them, and maybe poop some seeds out on the way to the next one.

[@maryw.5779]

@@massimookissed1023 Thank you. I was just about to ask how the seeds got to the lava.

[@haseo8244]

Spiders are often first colonizers as they spins webs to catch bugs blown in by the winds. They were the first animals on new created islands to thrives. After all house spiders can live with only water from their preys and waits months for fresh preys.

[@ShadeRave]

Always interesting to see new plants everyday.

[@alfredwaldo6079]

3:23 If someone painted that and claimed it was a speculative evolution project I would totally belive them

[@z1az285]

Incredible, life does find a way

[@yuzhongluoyisson9420]

When she can't say how the cacti are shaped, I felt that

[@notanonchampignon9837]

Tasha, you look like a caracter from a cartoon/game that talks so passionately about what they work with that they end up inspiring other people to do the same.

[@gaolizhang197]

I showed this to my grandma and now she’s booking a trip there.

[@Tom-ck3io]

This cactus is so CUTE UwU

[@wolfoxcat3974]

Cutecus OwO

[@thegam1ndragonvods38]

🧐

[@Autumnberry7557]

As someone who grows a few cacti, it would be cool if they could eat lava!

[@claysoggyfries]

I wouldn’t have thought that was possible 😳

[@sleepygeek2821]

The birds are diving in the water at 3:30 are pretty cool :D

[@benshearer1710]

That was a truly interesting video thank you

[@radostinangelov9193]

Imagine how one simple plant can do soooo much for it's environment.

[@queen_badapple]

The coolest plant 🌵😎

[@LaineyBug2020]

The flowers just add to the shape! Nature be funny!

[@williammarcus5090]

Tasha, another awesome program. Thank you. Where did you get your cactus shirt? Thanks.

[@shl24yw89]

Camel eats cactus for breakfast while cactus eats lava for breakfast. What is this, Russia??

[@michaelmayhem350]

When do we get an episode where Tasha rhymes her way through it.

[@miabua73]

Beautiful plants. Also beautiful dives by the birds and 3:30.

[@TheNeuteredCat1]

I saw that too

[@markwaddell2875]

Her hair color fits her so well. She looks awesome! I love it!!

[@lasercraft32]

This feels like the kind of cactus you'd see in a video game... Like, its a cactus that grows in volcanic regions, it would not be at all out of place in a game like Breath of the Wild. XD

[@arcticdino1650]

Monster Hunter Frontiers has a volcanic cactus, although it's nothing like this species.

[@connieembury1]

Love the hair Tasha! I would love to learn more about the arctic plants from northern Canada. Lichens would also be an interesting episode

[@waynekue1]

3:30 the birds diving in the background just pulls that scene all together😍

[@michaeldimare3786]

I had heard of these, but I had no idea they were so odd, or important to the islands! Thanks for the info

[@joshuangerng2119]

So minecraft catcus >> lava is kinda of realistic

[@timwoods2852]

It will always baffle me how people can think that amazing things like this just came about by chance and accident. This cactus better be the first Grass/Fire Pokemon!

[@jaredponder4149]

Natural selection isn't random. It just isn't guided. Predation isn't a random thing, and neither is dying before you reproduce. There are random elements, that are very important i.e., genetic mutations that are then non-randomly inherited by the next generation through sexual selection, and random genetic drift caused by non-random environmental pressures that lead individuals of a species to leave their population, thus taking their genes out of the gene pool,but yeah. That is the biggest misconception of evolution.

[@timwoods2852]

@@jaredponder4149 🤨 "Isn't guided." = No direction. = Wandering aimlessly. = Random. Mutation is incredibly rare, and is always a hindrance. No positive mutations have ever been documented. Not sure what point you're trying to make with individuals wandering off.

[@ariwanabdollah6758]

Great vid! How about a vid about the purple velvet plant? Or a vid about (some) common houseplants?

[@MiguelFlores-gj5kt]

Best video I've seen all day. Cool plant