Turk’s cap cactus – Botanical Garden, Montréal, Québec

Melocactus (melon cactus) is a genus of cactus with about 30-40 species. Mature plants are easily recognizable by their cephalium, a wool- and bristle-coated structure at the apex of the plant, containing a mass of areoles from which the small flowers grow. Since the red, wool-coated cephalium of the plant is similar to the Fez hat of the Turkish male citizens during the period of the late Ottoman Empire, one name for the plant is Turk’s cap cactus.