History Main / AllDesertsHaveCacti

In Troperland, all deserts have cacti. And usually not just any cacti, but the classic two-armed saguaro (though barrel- and beavertail cacti are also popular). Never mind that cacti are only native to the New World. The Sahara only has bushes, dunes and bare rock. The saguaro, for example, is found exclusively in southern Arizona, northwest Mexico, and [[SmallReferencePools a tiny bit of California]](the area around KirksRock). For that matter, the ''entire family'' of Cactaceae is exclusive to the Americas in its native range - yes, even in high-altitude and colder areas. Of course, the range of cactus species available in fantasy worlds is up for grabs, but putting them all over Arabia, Africa and Australia is pure folly (granted, they ''have'' been cultivated abroad for ornamentation and fruit, particularly the Pitaya, but seeing them in the wild outside the Americas is right out).

** The Resort Desert in Black/White features a new cactus Pokémon, Maractus.

** Pitayas (Also known as "Dragonfruit") are also harvested outside of the Americas. [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff While the Mexican name for it was for sour fruit, the sweet Pitayas are quite popular out in Thailand and Vietnam]]

* In ''DwarfFortress'' saguaro can grow in any desert biome, even very cold ones.

* Averted in {{Disney/Aladdin}}. There are no cacti in Agrabah.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cactus.jpg
[[caption-width:295:Instant Desert? Just Add Cactus.]]

Alternatively, all deserts are also Sahara-esque sandy wastelands (aside from the cacti), completely disregarding that parts of the Sonoran Desert, from where the saguaro hails, are in fact vibrant and fertile ecosystems in their own right.

Also, for further reference; deserts are not entirely devoid of life. Some may have succulent plants, which ''aren't'' cacti, but aren't distinctive or noticeable as cacti. And succulent pants are found all around the world, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloe Aloes]], for example, are native to Southern Africa and parts of Arabia.

* In ''[=~American Dad!~=]'', the episode Delorean Story shows Stan driving his son on the way to Albuquerque, with nothing but sand and saguaro cacti surrounding the road. In reality, they would have seen a few forests along the way considering at least 5 climate zones exist around Albuquerque.
* Averted in {{Disney/Aladdin}}. There are no cacti in Agrabah. Now if only it could go about averting [[UnfortunateImplications some]] [[{{Qurac}} of]] [[DidNotDoTheResearch the]] [[RaceTropes other]] [[GrandVizierJafar cliches]]...

In Troperland, all deserts have cacti. And usually not just any cacti, but the classic two-armed saguaro (though barrel- and beavertail cacti are also popular). Never mind that cacti are only native to the New World. The Sahara only has bushes, dunes and bare rock. The saguaro, for example, is found exclusively in southern Arizona, northwest Mexico, and [[SmallReferencePools a tiny bit of California]](the area around KirksRock). For that matter, the ''entire family'' of Cactaceae is exclusive to the Americas in its native range - yes, even in high-altitude and colder areas. Of course, the range of cactus species available in fantasy worlds is up for grabs, but putting them all over Arabia, Africa and Australia is pure folly. (Granted, there actually ''are'' some cacti that grow out in those areas; but they are ''cultivated'' either for ornamental value or fruit, specifically, the Pitaya, but when are fictional deserts set in a ''cactus garden''?)

Also, for further reference; deserts are not entirely devoid of life. Some may have succulent plants, which ''aren't'' cacti, but aren't distinctive or noticeable as cacti. And succulent pants are found all around the world, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloe Aloe Vera]], for example, is native to Southern Africa.

* No matter where you deploy for ufo recovery in the world in {{X-Com}}, as long as you touch down in desert, you ''will'' see cacti when you disembark from the Skyranger.

* Also averted in ''MysteriousCitiesOfGold'', and they actually point out that cacti are full of water when the characters are stranded on the galapagos islands.

** It's also a beloved plant for the Berbers in Morocco, who have a lenghty tale about how Allah gave it to them thousands of years ago so they could survive being lost in the desert by eating its fruit. [[SeriousBusiness Never mention]] in their presence that it was introduced by the Spanish just a few centuries ago.

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

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[[AC:{{Film}}]]

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** The Gerudo Desert in ''Ocarina of Time'' and ''Twilight Princess'' is notable for being cactus-free.

* ''Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards'' contains a SingleBiomePlanet based off of deserts. The first level of this planet is based off of ancient Egypt, and mostly avoids this trope - until just past the oasis near the end of the stage, at which point you encounter Gobblins, which are animated, ravenous cacti. Oops.

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

* [[LooneyTunes Road Runner and Coyote]] cartoons, obviously. Justified in that they take place in the American Southwest, where cacti are indigenous.

* Also averted in ''MysteriousCitiesOfGold'', and they actually point out that cacti are full of water when the characters are stranded on the galapagos islands.

[[AC:RealLife]]

* Cacti may often be found growing in Southeast Asia. The Pitaya fruit, also known as Dragonfruit, is native to Mexico but was popular in Vietnam and Thailand.

In Troperland, all deserts have cacti. And usually not just any cacti, but the classic two-armed saguaro (though barrel- and beavertail cacti are also popular). Never mind that cacti are only native to the New World. The Sahara only has bushes, dunes and bare rock. The saguaro, for example, is found exclusively in southern Arizona, northwest Mexico, and [[SmallReferencePools a tiny bit of California]](the area around KirksRock). Of course, the range of cactus species available in fantasy worlds is up for grabs, but putting them all over Arabia, Africa and Australia is pure folly. (Granted, there actually ''are'' some cacti that grow out in those areas; but they are ''cultivated'' either for ornamental value or fruit, specifically, the Pitaya, but when are fictional deserts set in a ''cactus garden''?)

In Troperland, all deserts have cacti. And usually not just any cacti, but the classic two-armed saguaro (though barrel- and beavertail cacti are also popular). Never mind that cacti are only native to the New World. The Sahara only has bushes, dunes and bare rock. The saguaro, for example, is found exclusively in southern Arizona, northwest Mexico, and [[SmallReferencePools a tiny bit of California]](the area around KirksRock). Of course, the range of cactus species available in fantasy worlds is up for grabs, but putting them all over Arabia, Africa and Australia is pure folly.

* This is [[AvertedTrope averted]] in Bob Hope and Bing Crosby's [[MostTriumphantExample definitive]] ''[[MostTriumphantExample Road To...]]'' [[MostTriumphantExample movie]], ''The Road To Morocco'' (which is peculiar, considering that classic films in foreign locales tend to [[DidNotDoTheResearch go for the obvious stereotype]]). There are plenty of palm trees and rose bushes, but not a single cactus in the roughly hour-and-twenty-minute film.

If you want to establish that you're in a desert, there's no better way than to throw in a cactus (despite the fact that ''Antarctica'' is a desert, as [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a140UkjcQac this video]] musically explains). Increasingly, this trope is used to justify a LemonWackyHello or a MushroomSamba; while many have heard of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peyote Peyote]], few realize that it is a cactus - at least until someone on television is trapped in the desert, dying of thirst, and realizes that cacti are full of water... AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle.

* A brief gag during the Arabasta arc of ''OnePiece'' had Luffy drink from a cactus, despite the kingdom being more Arabic than American, with [[LemonWackyHello near-identical results]] to the ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' example below. Luckily, Chopper, the team doctor, happened to have a needle full of tranquilizer on him...

* In ''[=~Avatar: The Last Airbender~=]'', a show set in a mythological Asian-esque land, Sokka sings "Drink cactus juice, it'll quench ya. Nothing's quenchier" while [[LemonWackyHello high on cactus juice]]. However, the cactus Sokka just drank from turns out to be the only one they ever see along the way.

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!!Corollary:
The zoological version of this botanical trope is ''AllJunglesHaveKookaburras''. Movies set in the jungles of Africa and South America invariably feature on the soundtrack a birdcall sounding like this: "OOOH-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh-AAAH-aah-aah!" This bird is the Kookaburra, native to the Australian outback, and never found within thousands of miles of Africa or South America except in bad movies.

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