Cactus seeds in the wild

[hayu2]

I have some seeds that are in a mini green house. But I started wondering about them in the wild. Does the seed have to grow between the ribs to survive? Rain and dew would flow down between the ribs. With the heat from the sun the water would steam a bit so it stays
moist.

The seed would protected from the direct sun light some what by the mother cactus from the shade and ribs. This will also kill the mother plant and make the circle where the younger cactus are living but the inside the cactus are dead. This doesn't happen to all cactus. I can't find anything on this on any web site.

Next what is the plural for cactus, cactus, cacti or cactuses?

[Aiko]

It is cacti. Or Cactaceae if you like to be more fancy. But this term refers to the entire family of cacti genus (genus is also plural) and not particulary to multiple individual plants. But maybe that's not an important distinction...

Seeds could be eaten by birds, and dropped via droppings in crevaces or under bushes, where the seeds can grow and be sheltered. Also seeds are being caried away by ants or other animals, and probably left in places where the seeds are sheltered from the most extreme elements too. But I am sure a lot of the seeds stay close to the mother plant and shelter next to it. Some cacti species also wash away during extreme rainfall, unroot, and reroot at a different location at a lower elevation. This could well be a more sheltered place, or a less sheltered place.

[hayu2]

Thanks