Talk:Organ Pipe Cactus

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An entry from Organ Pipe Cactus appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know? column on 3 August 2006.

[edit] I don't understand the ribs, what does it mean?

The article says: Each stem has 10 or more[2] 12 to 20 inch high ribs that bear dark brown to black spines that turn gray as it matures.

I don't get it. The stems are 6 inches thick so the "12 to 20 inch high" can't be the length they stand out from the center of the stems. The stems are many feet long so the 12 to 20 inches can't mean the length of the rib. The closeup picture shows a stem, the ribs clearly don't circle the stem.

This is my best guess of what the author meant to say: ... 12 to 20 cm high ribs ...

This is my next best guess: Each stem has many many ribs. The ribs run parallel to the stem, but any one rib only runs 12 to 20 inches along the length of the stem, implying that as you travel along a stem you will see ribs start and end. There are 10 or more at any cross section of the stem. Is either guess right? --Djfeldman 13:38, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

You're right thank you. I messed up the wording. --Chroniclev 23:20, 3 August 2006 (UTC)