Cactus vs Mahonia - What's the difference?
cactus | mahonia |
(botany) Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.
Any succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, including euphorbs.
(Australia, NZ, slang) Non-functional, broken, exhausted.
* {{quote-newsgroup, title=TV Problems
, group=aus.electronics
, author=Dave
, date=July 8
, year=2001
, passage=I wouldn't mind throwing it away if it's cactus except for the VCR part which works fine, so then I'd be up for a new VCR as well.
* {{quote-newsgroup, title=water damage ???
, group=alt.cellular.nokia
, author=AC
, date=August 25
, year=2004
, passage=I would say it's cactus . Water conducts & destroys components & PCBs very easily. Hence the water-resistant phones.
* 2009 , Will Chaffey, Swimming with Crocodiles: An Australian Adventure ,
Any of the genus of evergreen shrubs.
* {{quote-news, year=2008, date=January 24, author=Anne Raver, title=What the Nurseries Like for Spring, work=New York Times
, passage=Winter-blooming mahonias , or grape hollies, are catching on: Charity has fragrant yellow flowers. }}
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As nouns the difference between cactus and mahonia
is that cactus is while mahonia is any of the genus of evergreen shrubs.cactus
English
Noun
Usage notes
In modern English, the term cactus' properly refers to plants belonging to the family Cactaceae. With one exception, all are native to the New World (the Americas). The sole exception is , a jungle epiphyte found in tropical Africa, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka, as well as North and South America. Informally, '''cactus is used to refer to any stem ''succulent'' adapted to a dry climate, notably species from genus ''Euphorbia with forms reminiscent of Cactaceae. To be precise, these succulents are correctly described as "cactoid" or "cactiform" unless they are actual members of the Cactaceae.Hypernyms
* (member of Cactaceae) succulentHyponyms
* (member of Cactaceae) nopal, saguaroDerived terms
* barrel cactus * beehive cactus * bird's nest cactus * cactus cat * cactuslike * cactus wren * compass cactus * crown cactus * dumpling cactus * feather cactus * finger cactus * fishhook cactus * foxtail cactus * hedgehog cactus * horse crippler cactus * ladyfinger cactus * mistletoe cactus * nipple cactus * noncactus * old lady cactus * orchid cactus * organ pipe cactus * pencil cactus * Rainbow cactus * rattail cactus * strawberry cactus * thimble cactus * willow cactus, willow-cactusAdjective
(-)citation
citation
page 108,
- ‘It?s cactus ,’ Rod, the helicopter pilot, said at the sound of the piston ring shattering.
See also
* succulent * (Cactus) * English nouns with irregular plurals ----mahonia
Noun
(en noun)citation