Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
➰ A curved decoration 🌵 A trailing cactus
monkeytail

monkeytail

9.6
A hanging cactus with long furry stems grown as a houseplant
  • noun
translation icon : cactus cola de mono
  • The monkeytail cactus is popular for its unique, furry stems that hang over the sides of pots.

Examples

  • The monkeytail plant thrives in bright, indirect sunlight.

  • I bought a monkeytail cactus for my living room.

  • She placed her monkeytail in a sunny window to help it grow long and healthy.

  • Gardeners admire the monkeytail for its unusual appearance and easy care indoors.

  • The monkeytail cactus is popular for its unique, furry stems that hang over the sides of pots.

  • Gardeners admire the monkeytail for its unusual appearance and easy care indoors.

  • She placed her monkeytail in a sunny window to help it grow long and healthy.

Synonyms

Aporocactus
vsmonkeytail
  • Specialized
9.9

A small cactus with long trailing stems often grown in hanging baskets

is a general ornamental type noted for hairy cylindrical trailing stems
rattail cactus
vsmonkeytail
  • US
9.3

A tropical cactus with long thin hanging stems and bright red flowers

focuses on hairy cylindrical stems rather than showy flowering display
rat's-tail cactus
vsmonkeytail
  • US
9.5

A tropical American plant with long, hanging stems and bright red flowers

highlights hairy cylindrical stems rather than long-lasting floral displays

Surface Forms

monkeytail singular
monkeytails plural

Morphology

monkeytail = monkey + tail (transparent) = monkey + tail

The plant name is a descriptive compound referring to the plant's tail-like trailing stems, so its meaning can be inferred from the components.

Etymology

The word monkeytail for the cactus comes from monkey + tail because the plant has long, hairy stems that hang like a monkey's 'tail'. That's why gardeners call this trailing houseplant a monkeytail, and imagining a soft, hanging 'tail' helps you remember it.