"What's in a name? Nearly everyone has heard this question and knows it from Shakespeare's play "Romeo & Juliet". We also know that when Juliet posed that well-known hypothetical question, she used a rose as an example - stating that by any name a rose would still smell the same. But have you ever wondered why she didn't say "cactus" instead of "rose"?
(OK, you probably haven't.)
"However, if you did ponder this thought and looked into the subject, you'd find that cactus plants originate in the new world. (With one
exception.) This means that these unique plants would not have been very familiar to the inhabitants of 16th century Europe. That doesn't mean the cactus was entirely unfamiliar to them at that time, but largely so. Christopher Columbus is credited with bringing the first cactus to Europe on his second trip to the New World in 1495."
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