I opened my email this morning and there was a note from Tropical Plants Online talking about the Madagascar Palm. I read through the verbiage and then clicked on the pic and was astounded. Here finally was the name of the cactus we purchased a few years ago. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, we are big animal people. We love our pets and have had between 5 and 7 ever since we've been together. All rescues, over time they have aged and left us for the Rainbow Bridge.









Cali was my first cat and with me when my husband and I got together. She had been dumped in the apartment complex where I was living and was looking for a home. When I would come in from work, she would follow me inside the building and up the stairs. At the time I had a sheltie so I made a bargain with her. If she didn't give Missy a hard way to go, she was welcome to stay. Cali seemed to like that arrangement just fine and proceeded to totally ignore the dog. From that point on she was a permanent fixture.

Cali was with us until about 4 years ago when she developed kidney failure. She was 15 years old and I will forever miss her feisty yet loving antics. When she passed away we felt it only right to find a plant that fit her personality and we found the absolutely correct one. It had long strappy leaves that were soft and beautiful green, but also had lots of spikes on its trunk - exactly like Cali. She could be very warm and loving one minute, and slap you with her claws the next. Not labeled, we thought it was in the cactus family. We brought it home and it has grown. Our Cali plant has been through hurricanes and accidentally had bleach dropped on it (that's another long story) and still grows. So back to my tale. There in my email was a picture of the Cali plant. Only it's actually called Madagascar Palm or Pachypodium lamerei. It's a native of South Madagascar, Africa and IS a member of the cactus family - so we were correct! And, as you know, cacti can take a lot of abuse and still look great. So if you like the look of our Cali plant (minus the spots), go out to Karl's site at Tropical Plants Online and give one a home. You may even hear it purr. Happy Florida Gardening.