Here’s the thing. You said a “succulent is a cactus.”

Is it in the same family? Yes. No one’s arguing that.

As someone who is a scientist who studies cacti, I am telling you, specifically, in science, no one calls succulents cacti. If you want to be “specific” like you said, then you shouldn’t either. They’re not the same thing.

If you’re saying “cactus family” you’re referring to the taxonomic grouping of succulae, which includes things from christmas cactus to joshua trees to prickily pear.

So your reasoning for calling a succulent a cactus is because random people “call the squishy ones cacti?” Let’s get stonecrop and aloe in there, then, too.

Also, calling someone a human or an ape? It’s not one or the other, that’s not how taxonomy works. They’re both. A succulent is a succulent and a member of the cactus family. But that’s not what you said. You said a succulent is a cactus, which is not true unless you’re okay with calling all members of the cactus family catcti, which means you’d call Joshua trees, aloe, and other plants cacti, too. Which you said you don’t.

It’s okay to just admit you’re wrong, you know?