title: Cactus

text: A 2005 study suggested the genus "Pereskia" as then circumscribed ("Pereskia" sensu lato) was basal within the Cactaceae, but confirmed earlier suggestions it was not monophyletic, i.e., did not include all the descendants of a common ancestor. The Bayesian consensus cladogram from this study is shown below with subsequent generic changes added.


title: Cactus

text: A 2011 study using fewer genes but more species also found that "Pereskia" s.l. was divided into the same clades, but was unable to resolve the members of the "core cacti" clade. It was accepted that the relationships shown above are "the most robust to date."


title: Cactus

text: "Leuenbergeria" species ("Pereskia" s.l. Clade A) always lack two key features of the stem present in most of the remaining "caulocacti": like most non-cacti, their stems begin to form bark early in the plants' life and also lack stomata—structures that control admission of air into a plant and hence control photosynthesis. By contrast, caulocacti, including species of "Rhodocactus" and the remaining species of "Pereskia" s.s., typically delay forming bark and have stomata on their stems, thus giving the stem the potential to become a major organ for photosynthesis. (The two highly specialized species of "Maihuenia" are something of an exception.)


title: Cactus

text: The first cacti are thought to have been only slightly succulent shrubs or small trees whose leaves carried out photosynthesis. They lived in tropical areas that experienced periodic drought. If "Leuenbergeria" is a good model of these early cacti, then, although they would have appeared superficially similar to other trees growing nearby, they had already evolved strategies to conserve water (some of which are present in members of other families in the order Caryophyllales). These strategies included being able to respond rapidly to periods of rain, and keeping transpiration low by using water very efficiently during photosynthesis. The latter was achieved by tightly controlling the opening of stomata. Like "Pereskia" species today, early ancestors may have been able to switch from the normal C mechanism, where carbon dioxide is used continuously in photosynthesis, to CAM cycling, in which when the stomata are closed, carbon dioxide produced by respiration is stored for later use in photosynthesis.


title: Cactus

text: The clade containing "Rhodocactus" and "Pereskia" s.s. marks the beginnings of an evolutionary switch to using stems as photosynthetic organs. Stems have stomata and the formation of bark takes place later than in normal trees. The "core cacti" show a steady increase in both stem succulence and photosynthesis accompanied by multiple losses of leaves, more-or-less complete in the Cactoideae. One evolutionary question at present unanswered is whether the switch to full CAM photosynthesis in stems occurred only once in the core cacti, in which case it has been lost in "Maihuenia", or separately in Opuntioideae and Cactoideae, in which case it never evolved in "Maihuenia".


title: Cactus

text: Understanding evolution within the core cacti clade is difficult , since phylogenetic relationships are still uncertain and not well related to current classifications. Thus, a 2011 study found "an extraordinarily high proportion of genera" were not monophyletic, so were not all descendants of a single common ancestor. For example, of the 36 genera in the subfamily Cactoideae sampled in the research, 22 (61%) were found not monophyletic. Nine tribes are recognized within Cactoideae in the International Cactaceae Systematics Group (ICSG) classification; one, Calymmantheae, comprises a single genus, "Calymmanthium". Only two of the remaining eight – Cacteae and Rhipsalideae – were shown to be monophyletic in a 2011 study by Hernández-Hernández et al. For a more detailed discussion of the phylogeny of the cacti, see Classification of the Cactaceae.


title: Cactus

text: No known fossils of cacti exist to throw light on their evolutionary history. However, the geographical distribution of cacti offers some evidence. Except for a relatively recent spread of "Rhipsalis baccifera" to parts of the Old World, cacti are plants of South America and mainly southern regions of North America. This suggests the family must have evolved after the ancient continent of Gondwana split into South America and Africa, which occurred during the Early Cretaceous, around . Precisely when after this split cacti evolved is less clear. Older sources suggest an early origin around 90 – 66 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous. More recent molecular studies suggest a much younger origin, perhaps in very Late Eocene to early Oligocene periods, around 35–30 million years ago. Based on the phylogeny of the cacti, the earliest diverging group ("Leuenbergeria") may have originated in Central America and northern South America, whereas the caulocacti, those with more-or-less succulent stems, evolved later in the southern part of South America, and then moved northwards. Core cacti, those with strongly succulent stems, are estimated to have evolved around 25 million years ago. A possible stimulus to their evolution may have been uplifting in the central Andes, some 25–20 million years ago, which was associated with increasing and varying aridity. However, the current species diversity of cacti is thought to have arisen only in the last 10–5 million years (from the late Miocene into the Pliocene). Other succulent plants, such as the Aizoaceae in South Africa, the Didiereaceae in Madagascar and the genus "Agave" in the Americas, appear to have diversified at the same time, which coincided with a global expansion of arid environments.


title: Cactus

text: Cacti inhabit diverse regions, from coastal plains to high mountain areas. With one exception, they are native to the Americas, where their range extends from Patagonia to British Columbia and Alberta in western Canada. A number of centers of diversity exist. For cacti adapted to drought, the three main centers are Mexico and the southwestern United States; the southwestern Andes, where they are found in Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina; and eastern Brazil, away from the Amazon Basin. Tree-living epiphytic and climbing cacti necessarily have different centers of diversity, as they require moister environments. They are mainly found in the coastal mountains and Atlantic forests of southeastern Brazil; in Bolivia, which is the center of diversity for the subfamily Rhipsalideae; and in forested regions of Central America, where the climbing Hylocereeae are most diverse.


title: Cactus

text: "Rhipsalis baccifera" is the exception; it is native to both the Americas and the Old World, where it is found in tropical Africa, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka. One theory is it was spread by being carried as seeds in the digestive tracts of migratory birds; the seeds of "Rhipsalis" are adapted for bird distribution. Old World populations are polyploid, and regarded as distinct subspecies, supporting the idea that the spread was not recent. The alternative theory is the species initially crossed the Atlantic on European ships trading between South America and Africa, after which birds may have spread it more widely.


title: Cactus

text: Many other species have become naturalized outside the Americas after having been introduced by people, especially in Australia, Hawaii, and the Mediterranean region. In Australia, species of "Opuntia", particularly "Opuntia stricta", were introduced in the 19th century for use as natural agricultural fences and in an attempt to establish a cochineal industry. They rapidly became a major weed problem, but are now controlled by biological agents, particularly the moth "Cactoblastis cactorum". The weed potential of Opuntia species in Australia continues however, leading to all opuntioid cacti except "O. ficus-indica" being declared Weeds of National Significance by the Australian Weeds Committee in April 2012.


title: Cactus

text: The Arabian Peninsula has a wide variety of ever-increasing, introduced cactus populations. Some of these are cultivated, some are escapes from cultivation, and some are invasives that are presumed to be ornamental escapes.


title: Cactus

text: Cactus flowers are pollinated by insects, birds and bats. None are known to be wind-pollinated and self-pollination occurs in only a very few species; for example the flowers of some species of "Frailea" do not open (cleistogamy). The need to attract pollinators has led to the evolution of pollination syndromes, which are defined as groups of "floral traits, including rewards, associated with the attraction and utilization of a specific group of animals as pollinators."


title: Cactus

text: Bees are the most common pollinators of cacti; bee-pollination is considered to have been the first to evolve. Day-flying butterflies and nocturnal moths are associated with different pollination syndromes. Butterfly-pollinated flowers are usually brightly colored, opening during the day, whereas moth-pollinated flowers are often white or pale in color, opening only in the evening and at night. As an example, "Lophocereus schottii" is pollinated by a particular species of moth, "Upiga virescens", which also lays its eggs among the developing seeds its caterpillars later consume. The flowers of this cactus are funnel-shaped, white to deep pink, up to long, and open at night.


title: Cactus

text: Hummingbirds are significant pollinators of cacti. Species showing the typical hummingbird-pollination syndrome have flowers with colors towards the red end of the spectrum, anthers and stamens that protrude from the flower, and a shape that is not radially symmetrical, with a lower lip that bends downwards; they produce large amounts of nectar with a relatively low sugar content. "Schlumbergera" species, such as "S. truncata", have flowers that correspond closely to this syndrome. Other hummingbird-pollinated genera include "Cleistocactus" and "Disocactus".


title: Cactus

text: Bat-pollination is relatively uncommon in flowering plants, but about a quarter of the genera of cacti are known to be pollinated by bats—an unusually high proportion, exceeded among eudicots by only two other families, both with very few genera. Columnar cacti growing in semidesert areas are among those most likely to be bat-pollinated; this may be because bats are able to travel considerable distances, so are effective pollinators of plants growing widely separated from one another. The pollination syndrome associated with bats includes a tendency for flowers to open in the evening and at night, when bats are active. Other features include a relatively dull color, often white or green; a radially symmetrical shape, often tubular; a smell described as "musty"; and the production of a large amount of sugar-rich nectar. "Carnegiea gigantea" is an example of a bat-pollinated cactus, as are many species of "Pachycereus" and "Pilosocereus".


title: Cactus

text: The fruits produced by cacti after the flowers have been fertilized vary considerably; many are fleshy, although some are dry. All contain a large number of seeds. Fleshy, colorful and sweet-tasting fruits are associated with seed dispersal by birds. The seeds pass through their digestive systems and are deposited in their droppings. Fruit that falls to the ground may be eaten by other animals; giant tortoises are reported to distribute "Opuntia" seeds in the Galápagos Islands. Ants appear to disperse the seeds of a few genera, such as "Blossfeldia". Drier spiny fruits may cling to the fur of mammals or be moved around by the wind.


title: Cactus

text: , there is still controversy as to the precise dates when humans first entered those areas of the New World where cacti are commonly found, and hence when they might first have used them. An archaeological site in Chile has been dated to around 15,000 years ago, suggesting cacti would have been encountered before then. Early evidence of the use of cacti includes cave paintings in the Serra da Capivara in Brazil, and seeds found in ancient middens (waste dumps) in Mexico and Peru, with dates estimated at 12,000–9,000 years ago. Hunter-gatherers likely collected cactus fruits in the wild and brought them back to their camps.


title: Cactus

text: It is not known when cacti were first cultivated. Opuntias (prickly pears) were used for a variety of purposes by the Aztecs, whose empire, lasting from the 14th to the 16th century, had a complex system of horticulture. Their capital from the 15th century was Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City); one explanation for the origin of the name is that it includes the Nahuatl word "nōchtli", referring to the fruit of an opuntia. The coat of arms of Mexico shows an eagle perched on a cactus while holding a snake, an image at the center of the myth of the founding of Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs symbolically linked the ripe red fruits of an opuntia to human hearts; just as the fruit quenches thirst, so offering human hearts to the sun god ensured the sun would keep moving.


title: Cactus

text: Europeans first encountered cacti when they arrived in the New World late in the 15th century. Their first landfalls were in the West Indies, where relatively few cactus genera are found; one of the most common is the genus "Melocactus". Thus, melocacti were possibly among the first cacti seen by Europeans. "Melocactus" species were present in English collections of cacti before the end of the 16th century (by 1570 according to one source,) where they were called "Echinomelocactus", later shortened to "Melocactus" by Joseph Pitton de Tourneville in the early 18th century. Cacti, both purely ornamental species and those with edible fruit, continued to arrive in Europe, so Carl Linnaeus was able to name 22 species by 1753. One of these, his "Cactus opuntia" (now part of "Opuntia ficus-indica"), was described as "" (with larger fruit ... now in Spain and Portugal), indicative of its early use in Europe.


title: Cactus

text: The plant now known as "Opuntia ficus-indica", or the Indian fig cactus, has long been an important source of food. The original species is thought to have come from central Mexico, although this is now obscure because the indigenous people of southern North America developed and distributed a range of horticultural varieties (cultivars), including forms of the species and hybrids with other opuntias. Both the fruit and pads are eaten, the former often under the Spanish name "tuna", the latter under the name "nopal". Cultivated forms are often significantly less spiny or even spineless. The nopal industry in Mexico was said to be worth US$150 million in 2007. The Indian fig cactus was probably already present in the Caribbean when the Spanish arrived, and was soon after brought to Europe. It spread rapidly in the Mediterranean area, both naturally and by being introduced—so much so, early botanists assumed it was native to the area. Outside the Americas, the Indian fig cactus is an important commercial crop in Sicily, Algeria and other North African countries. Fruits of other opuntias are also eaten, generally under the same name, "tuna". Flower buds, particularly of "Cylindropuntia" species, are also consumed.


title: Cactus

text: Almost any fleshy cactus fruit is edible. The word "pitaya" or "pitahaya" (usually considered to have been taken into Spanish from Haitian creole) can be applied to a range of "scaly fruit", particularly those of columnar cacti. The fruit of the saguaro ("Carnegiea gigantea") has long been important to the indigenous peoples of northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States, including the Sonoran Desert. It can be preserved by boiling to produce syrup and by drying. The syrup can also be fermented to produce an alcoholic drink. Fruits of "Stenocereus" species have also been important food sources in similar parts of North America; "Stenocereus queretaroensis" is cultivated for its fruit. In more tropical southern areas, the climber "Selenicereus undatus" provides "pitahaya orejona", now widely grown in Asia under the name dragon fruit. Other cacti providing edible fruit include species of "Echinocereus", "Ferocactus", "Mammillaria", "Myrtillocactus", "Pachycereus", "Peniocereus" and "Selenicereus". The bodies of cacti other than opuntias are less often eaten, although Anderson reported that "Neowerdermannia vorwerkii" is prepared and eaten like potatoes in upland Bolivia.


title: Cactus

text: A number of species of cacti have been shown to contain psychoactive agents, chemical compounds that can cause changes in mood, perception and cognition through their effects on the brain. Two species have a long history of use by the indigenous peoples of the Americas: peyote, "Lophophora williamsii", in North America, and the San Pedro cactus, "Echinopsis pachanoi", in South America. Both contain mescaline.


title: Cactus

text: "L. williamsii" is native to northern Mexico and southern Texas. Individual stems are about high with a diameter of , and may be found in clumps up to wide. A large part of the stem is usually below ground. Mescaline is concentrated in the photosynthetic portion of the stem above ground. The center of the stem, which contains the growing point (the apical meristem), is sunken. Experienced collectors of peyote remove a thin slice from the top of the plant, leaving the growing point intact, thus allowing the plant to regenerate. Evidence indicates peyote was in use more than 5,500 years ago; dried peyote buttons presumed to be from a site on the Rio Grande, Texas, were radiocarbon dated to around 3780–3660 BC. Peyote is perceived as a means of accessing the spirit world. Attempts by the Roman Catholic church to suppress its use after the Spanish conquest were largely unsuccessful, and by the middle of the 20th century, peyote was more widely used than ever by indigenous peoples as far north as Canada. It is now used formally by the Native American Church.


title: Cactus

text: "Echinopsis pachanoi" is native to Ecuador and Peru. It is very different in appearance from "L. williamsii". It has tall stems, up to high, with a diameter of , which branch from the base, giving the whole plant a shrubby or tree-like appearance. Archaeological evidence of the use of this cactus appears to date back to 2,000–2,300 years ago, with carvings and ceramic objects showing columnar cacti. Although church authorities under the Spanish attempted to suppress its use, this failed, as shown by the Christian element in the common name "San Pedro cactus"—Saint Peter cactus. Anderson attributes the name to the belief that just as St Peter holds the keys to heaven, the effects of the cactus allow users "to reach heaven while still on earth." It continues to be used for its psychoactive effects, both for spiritual and for healing purposes, often combined with other psychoactive agents, such as "Datura ferox" and tobacco. Several other species of "Echinopsis", including "E. peruviana", also contain mescaline.


title: Cactus

text: Cacti were cultivated as ornamental plants from the time they were first brought from the New World. By the early 1800s, enthusiasts in Europe had large collections (often including other succulents alongside cacti). Rare plants were sold for very high prices. Suppliers of cacti and other succulents employed collectors to obtain plants from the wild, in addition to growing their own. In the late 1800s, collectors turned to orchids, and cacti became less popular, although never disappearing from cultivation.


title: Cactus

text: Cacti are often grown in greenhouses, particularly in regions unsuited to the cultivation of cacti outdoors, such the northern parts of Europe and North America. Here, they may be kept in pots or grown in the ground. Cacti are also grown as houseplants, many being tolerant of the often dry atmosphere. Cacti in pots may be placed outside in the summer to ornament gardens or patios, and then kept under cover during the winter. Less drought-resistant epiphytes, such as epiphyllum hybrids, "Schlumbergera" (the Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus) and "Hatiora" (the Easter cactus), are widely cultivated as houseplants.


title: Cactus

text: Cacti may also be planted outdoors in regions with suitable climates. Concern for water conservation in arid regions has led to the promotion of gardens requiring less watering (xeriscaping). For example, in California, the East Bay Municipal Utility District sponsored the publication of a book on plants and landscapes for summer-dry climates. Cacti are one group of drought-resistant plants recommended for dry landscape gardening.


title: Cactus

text: Cacti have many other uses. They are used for human food and as fodder for animals, usually after burning off their spines. In addition to their use as psychoactive agents, some cacti are employed in herbal medicine. The practice of using various species of "Opuntia" in this way has spread from the Americas, where they naturally occur, to other regions where they grow, such as India.


title: Cactus

text: Cochineal is a red dye produced by a scale insect that lives on species of "Opuntia". Long used by the peoples of Central and North America, demand fell rapidly when European manufacturers began to produce synthetic dyes in the middle of the 19th century. Commercial production has now increased following a rise in demand for natural dyes.


title: Cactus

text: Cacti are used as construction materials. Living cactus fences are employed as barricades around buildings to prevent people breaking in. They also used to corral animals. The woody parts of cacti, such as "Cereus repandus" and "Echinopsis atacamensis", are used in buildings and in furniture. The frames of wattle and daub houses built by the Seri people of Mexico may use parts of the saguaro ("Carnegiea gigantea"). The very fine spines and hairs (trichomes) of some cacti were used as a source of fiber for filling pillows and in weaving.


title: Cactus

text: All cacti are included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which "lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled." Control is exercised by making international trade in most specimens of cacti illegal unless permits have been issued, at least for exports. Some exceptions are allowed, e.g., for "naturalized or artificially propagated plants". Some cacti, such as all "Ariocarpus" and "Discocactus" species, are included in the more restrictive Appendix I, used for the "most endangered" species. These may only be moved between countries for non-commercial purposes, and only then when accompanied by both export and import permits.


title: Cactus

text: The three main threats to cacti in the wild are development, grazing and over-collection. Development takes many forms. The construction of a dam near Zimapan, Mexico, caused the destruction of a large part of the natural habitat of "Echinocactus grusonii". Urban development and highways have destroyed cactus habitats in parts of Mexico, New Mexico and Arizona, including the Sonoran Desert. The conversion of land to agriculture has affected populations of "Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus" in Mexico, where dry plains were plowed for maize cultivation, and of "Copiapoa" and "Eulychnia" in Chile, where valley slopes were planted with vines. Grazing, in many areas by introduced animals, such as goats, has caused serious damage to populations of cacti (as well as other plants); two examples cited by Anderson are the Galápagos Islands generally and the effect on "Browningia candelaris" in Peru. Over-collection of cacti for sale has greatly affected some species. For example, the type locality of "Pelecyphora strobiliformis" near Miquihuana, Mexico, was virtually denuded of plants, which were dug up for sale in Europe. Illegal collecting of cacti from the wild continues to pose a threat.


title: Cactus

text: Conservation of cacti can be "in situ" or "ex situ". "In situ" conservation involves preserving habits through enforcement of legal protection and the creation of specially protected areas such as national parks and reserves. Examples of such protected areas in the United States include Big Bend National Park, Texas; Joshua Tree National Park, California; and Saguaro National Park, Arizona. Latin American examples include Parque Nacional del Pinacate, Sonora, Mexico and Pan de Azúcar National Park, Chile. "Ex situ" conservation aims to preserve plants and seeds outside their natural habitats, often with the intention of later reintroduction. Botanical gardens play an important role in "ex situ" conservation; for example, seeds of cacti and other succulents are kept in long-term storage at the Desert Botanical Garden, Arizona.


title: Cactus

text: The popularity of cacti means many books are devoted to their cultivation. Cacti naturally occur in a wide range of habitats and are then grown in many countries with different climates, so precisely replicating the conditions in which a species normally grows is usually not practical. A broad distinction can be made between semidesert cacti and epiphytic cacti, which need different conditions and are best grown separately. This section is primarily concerned with the cultivation of semidesert cacti in containers and under protection, such as in a greenhouse or in the home, rather than cultivation outside in the ground in those climates that permit it. For the cultivation of epiphytic cacti, see Cultivation of "Schlumbergera" (Christmas or Thanksgiving cacti), and Cultivation of epiphyllum hybrids.


title: Cactus

text: The purpose of the growing medium is to provide support and to store water, oxygen and dissolved minerals to feed the plant. In the case of cacti, there is general agreement that an open medium with a high air content is important. When cacti are grown in containers, recommendations as to how this should be achieved vary greatly; Miles Anderson says that if asked to describe a perfect growing medium, "ten growers would give 20 different answers". Roger Brown suggests a mixture of two parts commercial soilless growing medium, one part hydroponic clay and one part coarse pumice or perlite, with the addition of soil from earthworm castings. The general recommendation of 25–75% organic-based material, the rest being inorganic such as pumice, perlite or grit, is supported by other sources. However, the use of organic material is rejected altogether by others; Hecht says that cacti (other than epiphytes) "want soil that is low in or free of humus", and recommends coarse sand as the basis of a growing medium.


title: Cactus

text: Semi-desert cacti need careful watering. General advice is hard to give, since the frequency of watering required depends on where the cacti are being grown, the nature of the growing medium, and the original habitat of the cacti. Brown says that more cacti are lost through the "untimely application of water than for any other reason" and that even during the dormant winter season, cacti need some water. Other sources say that water can be withheld during winter (November to March in the Northern Hemisphere). Another issue is the hardness of the water; where it is necessary to use hard water, regular re-potting is recommended to avoid the build up of salts. The general advice given is that during the growing season, cacti should be allowed to dry out between thorough waterings. A water meter can help in determining when the soil is dry.


title: Cactus

text: Although semi-desert cacti may be exposed to high light levels in the wild, they may still need some shading when subjected to the higher light levels and temperatures of a greenhouse in summer. Allowing the temperature to rise above is not recommended. The minimum winter temperature required depends very much on the species of cactus involved. For a mixed collection, a minimum temperature of between and is often suggested, except for cold-sensitive genera such as "Melocactus" and "Discocactus". Some cacti, particularly those from the high Andes, are fully frost-hardy when kept dry (e.g. "Rebutia minuscula" survives temperatures down to in cultivation) and may flower better when exposed to a period of cold.


title: Cactus

text: Cacti can be propagated by seed, cuttings or grafting. Seed sown early in the year produces seedlings that benefit from a longer growing period. Seed is sown in a moist growing medium and then kept in a covered environment, until 7–10 days after germination, to avoid drying out. A very wet growing medium can cause both seeds and seedlings to rot. A temperature range of is suggested for germination; soil temperatures of around promote the best root growth. Low light levels are sufficient during germination, but afterwards semi-desert cacti need higher light levels to produce strong growth, although acclimatization is needed to conditions in a greenhouse, such as higher temperatures and strong sunlight.


title: Cactus

text: Reproduction by cuttings makes use of parts of a plant that can grow roots. Some cacti produce "pads" or "joints" that can be detached or cleanly cut off. Other cacti produce offsets that can be removed. Otherwise, stem cuttings can be made, ideally from relatively new growth. It is recommended that any cut surfaces be allowed to dry for a period of several days to several weeks until a callus forms over the cut surface. Rooting can then take place in an appropriate growing medium at a temperature of around .


title: Cactus

text: Grafting is used for species difficult to grow well in cultivation or that cannot grow independently, such as some chlorophyll-free forms with white, yellow or red bodies, or some forms that show abnormal growth (e.g., cristate or forms). For the host plant (the stock), growers choose one that grows strongly in cultivation and is compatible with the plant to be propagated: the scion. The grower makes cuts on both stock and scion and joins the two, binding them together while they unite. Various kinds of graft are used—flat grafts, where both scion and stock are of similar diameters, and cleft grafts, where a smaller scion is inserted into a cleft made in the stock.


title: Cactus

text: Commercially, huge numbers of cacti are produced annually. For example, in 2002 in Korea alone, 49 million plants were propagated, with a value of almost US$9 million. Most of them (31 million plants) were propagated by grafting.


title: Cactus

text: A range of pests attack cacti in cultivation. Those that feed on sap include mealybugs, living on both stems and roots; scale insects, generally only found on stems; whiteflies, which are said to be an "infrequent" pest of cacti; red spider mites, which are very small but can occur in large numbers, constructing a fine web around themselves and badly marking the cactus via their sap sucking, even if they do not kill it; and thrips, which particularly attack flowers. Some of these pests are resistant to many insecticides, although there are biological controls available. Roots of cacti can be eaten by the larvae of sciarid flies and fungus gnats. Slugs and snails also eat cacti.


title: Cactus

text: Fungi, bacteria and viruses attack cacti, the first two particularly when plants are over-watered. Fusarium rot can gain entry through a wound and cause rotting accompanied by red-violet mold. ""Helminosporium" rot" is caused by "Bipolaris cactivora" ( "Helminosporium cactivorum"); "Phytophthora" species also cause similar rotting in cacti. Fungicides may be of limited value in combating these diseases. Several viruses have been found in cacti, including cactus virus X. These appear to cause only limited visible symptoms, such as chlorotic (pale green) spots and mosaic effects (streaks and patches of paler color). However, in an "Agave" species, cactus virus X has been shown to reduce growth, particularly when the roots are dry. There are no treatments for virus diseases.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo are a British rock band, formed in London in 1994 by vocalist–guitarist Brian Molko and bassist–guitarist Stefan Olsdal. Drummer Robert Schultzberg joined in late 1994, but left in 1996 shortly after the release of the band's eponymous debut album due to conflicts with Molko, and was replaced the same year by Steve Hewitt.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Following the release of a demo, a split single, and their eponymous debut album, Placebo gained exposure in 1997 after the single "Nancy Boy" became popular in the UK, a song notorious at the time for its gender-bending content. The band stood out amongst the Britpop scene they were associated with at the time for their androgynous appearance and musical content, and lyrics which openly discussed sexuality, mental health, and drug use.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Hewitt left Placebo in 2007, due to personal and musical differences. He was replaced the following year by Steve Forrest. Placebo released two albums with Forrest, who left in 2015 to pursue his own musical career. Since 2015, Placebo are officially a duo, though augmented with additional musicians.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo have collaborated with various artists over the years, including David Bowie, Justin Warfield, Michael Stipe and Alison Mosshart. To date, Placebo have released eight studio albums, all of which have reached the Top 20 in the United Kingdom, and have sold around 11 million records worldwide.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo founders Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal had both attended the American International School of Luxembourg, although they did not interact at the time as they were part of different social circles. The two met by chance in 1994, in London, England. At the time, Olsdal was taking guitar lessons and was on his way home when he met Molko at the South Kensington tube station. Molko, observing that Olsdal had a guitar strapped to his back, invited Olsdal to watch him perform at a local gig. On the strength of Molko's performance, Olsdal decided that they should start a band. The two formed as Ashtray Heart, named after the Captain Beefheart song of the same name. Molko, however, denied in 2009 that Ashtray Heart was the first name of the band, dismissing this as a rumour and claiming that the band had more names initially.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Originally, the two were unable to decide on a drummer. They played for a while with Steve Hewitt, a friend of Molko, but Hewitt had prior commitments to local band Breed. Robert Schultzberg assumed the position of drummer in late 1994.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The band eventually chose the name Placebo, due to its meaning in Latin, "I shall please". Molko has frequently stated in interviews that the name is a rejoinder to the 1990s cliché of naming one's band after a drug. In an interview, Molko stated:


title: Placebo (band)

text: It's a complex question to answer, really. As musicians you try to find a name for your band that represents you and you never really do, because, basically, names for bands lose their meaning after a while. They become a series of sounds that you associate with people in music. The most important thing for a name is that you can imagine forty-thousand people screaming it in unison.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In October 1995 the band released "Bruise Pristine", a split single with the band Soup, on Fierce Panda. Molko would later speak in negative terms about this release.


title: Placebo (band)

text: By 1996 Placebo were signed with Caroline Records. Their debut album, the self-titled "Placebo", was released on 17 July 1996. The album was produced by Brad Wood and was influenced, according to Molko, by Sonic Youth and Depeche Mode. The release peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart at the height of the Britpop era; their highest-charting album in the country to date. When reviewing a concert, "the New York Times" compared them to bands of the "first wave of post-punk rock, particularly New Order, the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, early U2 and Talking Heads".


title: Placebo (band)

text: Tension with Schultzberg and the rest of the group had begun to rise in the previous year. The band initially fired him in September 1995, but he was rehired to record the first seven-inch single "Bruise Pristine". After an argument in August 1996, Molko decided that it would be best for the band if Schultzberg left. The band came to an agreement that Schultzberg would leave once they had finished the promotion of "Placebo".


title: Placebo (band)

text: Eventually, Schultzberg did indeed leave the band in September 1996, on a United States tour. Before going on stage for their first show in the state of New York, Olsdal informed Schultzberg that he wasn't going on the tour in Germany that was following the US one. At the manager's request, Schultzberg did two more shows with the band in Paris after the US tour, the last of which was a performance on the French TV show "Nulle part ailleurs". According to Schultzberg "Molko said that he was 'tired of being the focus of Robert's rages against the world', and quite frankly, I was tired of being his". While Schultzberg was with the band, several early works were recorded, including their first 7" single "Bruise Pristine", the "Come Home" EP, the single version of "Nancy Boy" (with B-sides "Slackerbitch", "Miss Moneypenny" and the Smiths cover "Bigmouth Strikes Again") and their eponymous debut album. On the track "I Know", Schultzberg played didgeridoo as well as drums.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Steve Hewitt, who had played with the band in 1994, joined Placebo as a full-time member at Molko's request.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The most successful song on the debut album was "Nancy Boy", which peaked at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart upon its release in 1997. The song had been written in 1994, being partially inspired by an infamous quote of Suede's Brett Anderson: "I'm a bisexual man who's never had a homosexual experience." Its lyrics were full of sexual allusions, and Molko admitted at the time: "It's not absurd. It's obscene. A song this rude should not be number four in the charts."<ref name="The Life and Loves of a He/She Devil"> Note: copy stored at Placebo Official Website.</ref> Molko would go on to describe his relationship with the song in a 2016 interview as "very ambivalent", adding that, although he appreciates the fact that the song had been instrumental in their development as a band, he considers it immature.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The song attracted the attention of David Bowie, who invited the band to open several of his concerts in early 1996. In the following January, Bowie invited them to play at his 50th birthday celebrations at New York's Madison Square Garden. The party also included Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Robert Smith of The Cure and Lou Reed.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The band's glam rock connections continued. In 1998, Placebo recorded a cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" for the "Velvet Goldmine" soundtrack and the band appeared in minor roles in the film. Bowie made a special appearance on-stage with Placebo during a tour stop in New York as part of the band's late February tour with Stabbing Westward. Placebo played "20th Century Boy" live with David Bowie at the BRIT Awards show in 1999.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo were heavily criticised by the media due to their unorthodox attitude and Brian Molko's androgynous appearance. In a 2016 interview related to their early years, Molko commented:


title: Placebo (band)

text: We were reacting very strongly against the machismo, terrace chants and revisionism of Britpop, and the nationalism that we interpreted as xenophobia of the musical kind. We were trying to make a strong political statement about the fluidity of sexuality with the dresses and make-up that we wore. We set out to confuse, and I guess "Nancy Boy" was the perfect soundtrack to that.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In 1998, Placebo switched to the major label Virgin Records, and issued their follow-up album "Without You I'm Nothing" on 12 October. The band had a dysfunctional relationship with producer Steve Osborne during the recording of the album, and ended up not speaking to him at all by the time the sessions were over.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The album was another large seller in the UK; the US market embraced the album's lead single "Pure Morning", which appeared on MTV and reached number 20 on the "Billboard" Heatseekers chart, but subsequent singles and videos failed to match the success of its predecessor. "Pure Morning" enjoyed the same success as "Nancy Boy" in the UK, reaching number 4 in the British chart. The video of the song was nominated for the Best British Video award during the 1999 edition of Brit Awards, but lost to Robbie Williams' "Millennium". Molko would subsequently deem the lyrics of "Pure Morning" as unsatisfying, and would refuse to perform the song live for nine years.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The band kept enjoying success in the UK, as the second single, "You Don't Care About Us" reached number 5 in the British chart. The third single released was "Every You Every Me", a number eleven hit. The song appeared on the soundtrack for the film "Cruel Intentions", which was inspired by the novel "Les Liaisons dangereuses" by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The last single on the album, "Without You I'm Nothing" was re-recorded and released as a duet with David Bowie, at Bowie's request. Molko would describe this moment in 2016 as an honour, adding that he realised its importance much later in his career.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The band's third album, "Black Market Music", released in October 2000, and produced by Paul Corkett, further experimented with genres outside of regular rock sound. Placebo collaborated with Justin Warfield on "Spite & Malice" and sampled Pavement's "Texas Never Whispers" on "Slave to the Wage". A re-sequenced version released in the US featured a slightly different track listing, adding the aforementioned Bowie version of "Without You I'm Nothing" and the band's cover of Depeche Mode's "I Feel You".


title: Placebo (band)

text: The album created additional UK top 20 hits in "Taste in Men" and "Slave to the Wage", which reached number 16 and 19 in the UK Singles Chart, respectively.


title: Placebo (band)

text: I think it's the album we always wanted to make. I think without exaggerating even the tiniest bit, we love it and we've never been so happy with an album. Our debut was fast and rough, punk pop, "Without You I'm Nothing" showed our melancholy, depressed side and "Black Market" shows a perfect combination of both sides.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The singer would later become more reserved towards "Black Market Music", describing it in 2016 as "real somber", and expressing the regret of not having been involved enough during the production phase.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo encountered resistance from the British music industry upon release of the single "Special K" due to its reference of a ketamine high as a simile for love. Due to this metaphor, the song was censored in the UK. In spite of the controversy, "Black Market Music" reached number 1 in France and number 6 in the UK.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo released their fourth album, produced by Jim Abbiss and named "Sleeping with Ghosts", on 24 March 2003. The sound of the album was described in a "Billboard" review as being infused with "edgy electronic flourishes".


title: Placebo (band)

text: It is romantic without being sentimental. It's an album full of colour. It's also the first time when we recorded an album during the summer, after a long break. Before, we were in a sort of rock'n'roll bubble, we were alternating the studio sessions and the live concerts, we were pretty much cut off from the real world. It's dangerous to live too much in this kind of bubble. We had the chance to distance ourselves a bit from everything that happened since 1996 up until now. I also had the occasion to reflect to the montagne russe that is my personal life after these seven years. The ghosts I'm talking about are the people, the events you're wearing into your soul consciously or not.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The album went to No. 11 in the UK and sold 1.4 million copies worldwide. Australian tour dates with Elbow and UK shows with Har Mar Superstar followed in 2004.


title: Placebo (band)

text: First single "The Bitter End" peaked at number 12 in the British single chart. Protège-Moi, the French version of the song "Protect Me From What I Want", was released as a single in France where it reached number 18.


title: Placebo (band)

text: At the end of 2003, the band released "Sleeping with Ghosts Special Edition", which was a double-disc release, containing the "Sleeping with Ghosts" album and a bonus disc with ten covers. The bonus disc was re-released in 2010 as a stand-alone under the name "Covers".


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 15 March 2004, the band released their first live DVD, "Soulmates Never Die (Live in Paris 2003)", from footage recorded in October 2003 and also including a 25-minute documentary.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 25 October 2004, Placebo released a singles collection, "", on both CD and as a DVD featuring the band's videos. The nineteen-song compilation included two new tracks, "I Do" and the single "Twenty Years", which reached number 18 in UK. The compilation was meant to allow the listener to observe Placebo's change of lyrics, music and attitude; Molko was highly critical of his early years, comparing in a 2005 interview the first singles with "bad teenage poetry you made at college".


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 5 November 2004, Placebo played a one-night-only gig at Wembley Arena, in which Robert Smith of The Cure made a guest appearance on two tracks, "Without You I'm Nothing" and a cover of The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry". This performance was to be their last UK gig until 2006. After the Wembley gig, Placebo went on a short "Once More with Feeling" tour in South America. On 2 July 2005 the group performed "Twenty Years" and "The Bitter End" at the Live 8 concert, at the Palais de Versailles in France.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In September 2005 Placebo finished the recording phase of their fifth studio album, "Meds", which was produced by Dimitri Tikovoi and released on 13 March 2006. The album was also released in a limited edition, containing a documentary, the lyrics, live videos, three demo versions and the song "Long Division". The version released in the US had two bonus tracks, "Running Up That Hill" and "UNEEDMEMORETHANINEEDU", but did not include "In the Cold Light of Morning" at Molko's demand, who refused to have the song censored. The lead single in the UK market was "Because I Want You", whereas in the rest of the world the first single was "Song to Say Goodbye" . Two tracks are duets with US singers: "Meds" with Alison Mosshart of The Kills and "Broken Promise" with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe.


title: Placebo (band)

text: "Meds" was leaked to the internet on 17 January 2006, two months before the official release date. The leak was projected to cause a serious loss of profit by the band's record label Virgin Records. Nevertheless, in most countries the album charted well, at No. 1 in France, No. 4 in Australia and No. 7 in the UK.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In 2006 Placebo switched labels in the US to Astralwerks and re-released several revisions of their earlier works. In October their debut album "Placebo" was digitally remastered and re-released on 25 September 2006 with the subtitle "10th Anniversary Collectors Edition"; the box set also included a DVD containing music videos, concerts and TV performances.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In 2007 Placebo joined Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday and various other acts for the annual tour. Following the tour, Virgin released the "Extended Play '07" EP as a simple introduction for new fans to the band's past decade of music. The compilation featured eight songs: "Nancy Boy", "Every You Every Me", "Taste in Men", "The Bitter End", "Meds", "Pure Morning", "Infra-Red" and "Running Up that Hill".


title: Placebo (band)

text: The relationship between Steve Hewitt and the rest of the band had become tense during the recording of "Meds" and eventually, in October 2007, the band announced that Hewitt was no longer in Placebo. Molko commented that "Being in a band is very much like being in a marriage, and in couples—in this case a triple—people can grow apart over the years. To say that you don't love your partner anymore is inaccurate, considering all that you've been through and achieved together. There simply comes a point when you realise that you want different things from your relationship and that you can no longer live under the same roof, so to speak". Olsdal commented "We couldn't go on with Steve Hewitt. We didn't have the same goals, nor the same vision anymore. We had to separate. It all went wrong during the "Meds" tour. [...] There was no communication between us. Brian and I are one, but at some point we even didn't talk to each other anymore. We realised Placebo was dying. To be able to go on, things had to change." According to Hewitt, "Alex Weston, our manager, [...] called me in to the office and said I was not in the band anymore. And that's it. I was thrown out". Hewitt claims that it was "very hurtful" and "disappointing" to have been ejected in this way after being in the band for over a decade. Early in 2008 Hewitt founded the band Love Amongst Ruin, switching to guitar and singing lead vocals. In August 2012 he became the drummer of the reformed Six by Seven.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo gave one live performance in 2008, as part of an MTV EXIT event, a campaign against human trafficking held in Angkor Wat in December. Placebo left EMI in 2008, but the label released a ten-disc box set of the complete Placebo recordings on 8 June 2009, including all the studio albums and DVDs as well as a collection of B-sides.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In January 2009, Placebo announced that they signed with PIAS Entertainment, with Brian Molko commenting: "We were very lucky to have so many great labels interested in signing us, it means a lot, especially after 12 years of releasing records!"


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo also confirmed that they had finished working on the follow-up to 2006's "Meds" and planned to release it on 8 June 2009. The full track list was announced on the band's website in March 2009. The album, "Battle for the Sun", was the first to feature new drummer Steve Forrest, and was recorded with producer David Bottrill, also known for his work with Tool, Muse, Peter Gabriel and Silverchair.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The album's title track "Battle for the Sun" debuted on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on 17 March 2009. Subsequently, it became available for free download on the band's official website. On the same day as the track's debut, they played a secret concert in London, performing some of the material from the album, including the tracks "Ashtray Heart", "Julien", "Kitty Litter", "Speak in Tongues" and "Devil in the Details". In their review for the gig, "Rock Sound" wrote that "the new album is a heavier-sounding record compared to its predecessor" and recalls the atmosphere of "Without You I'm Nothing". Molko would describe the album in 2013 as "the sound of a band trying to find a new identity, to find out who they were again".


title: Placebo (band)

text: The first single, "For What It's Worth", made its radio debut on 20 April 2009, with the official release date being 1 June. It became available for download on iTunes and eMusic on 21 April, and the video for the single premiered on MySpace at the same time.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In May 2009, Placebo performed three concerts in the UK, at venues in Sheffield, Bournemouth and London, before attending the festival season in Europe and Asia. When unveiling the new album with a full track-by-track rundown, Molko told the Scottish edition of "News of the World": "It feels like a new beginning... we're reinvigorated, refreshed and ready to take on the world".


title: Placebo (band)

text: From 29 to 31 May 2009 fans who signed up for Placebo's official mailing list received a unique code for logging into five listenings of the album in its entirety.


title: Placebo (band)

text: At the beginning of August 2009, Placebo canceled a concert in Osaka, Japan, after singer Brian Molko fainted on stage. The band later explained in an official statement that the singer had picked up a virus, which, combined with jet lag and exhaustion, resulted in him collapsing. Following this incident, Placebo also canceled their North American tour.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In December 2009, Placebo released "iTunes Live: London Festival '09", a live album recorded at the iTunes Festival at The Roundhouse, Camden on 14 July 2009.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In February–April 2010, the band toured Southeast Asia, Australia and South America. The final leg of the tour saw Placebo play Israel and Lebanon, before returning to Europe for a series of festivals and featured concerts. A performance in Thessaloniki, Greece in September 2010 was poorly received by the crowd, sparking boos from a crowd of thousands after performing a 50-minute set.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 27 September 2010, Placebo released "Battle for the Sun Redux Edition", which included the single version of "Bright Lights" and a bonus disc featuring several re-recorded old tracks and the new songs "Monster Truck" and "Trigger Happy Hands". The last shows of the "Battle for the Sun" tour took place in London's Brixton Academy on 27–28 September 2010.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The band should have also toured Spain, Portugal, Japan and South Korea, but the shows were canceled due to Molko's poor health.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 31 October 2011, the band released their second live video album, "We Come in Pieces", documenting the live performance at the Brixton Academy on 28 September 2010. The DVD also featured a short movie, "Trigger Happy Hands", and a documentary, "Coming Up for Air", directed by Charlie Targett-Adams.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 12 December 2011, Placebo released an iTunes exclusive live album, "Live at Angkor Wat", which featured the semi-acoustic concert performed at Angkor Wat in 2008.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Also, in 2010, in support for Battle for the Sun, Placebo (band) did a concert at the Brixton Academy. Later in 2015, there was a film named Placebo - We Come in Pieces.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 29 November 2011 Placebo announced they would be headlining the Sundance Film and Music Festival in April 2012. In January 2012 the band confirmed their participation at the Rock im Pott festival scheduled for 25 August 2012 at Arena AufSchalke, Germany, along with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Bass player Stefan Olsdal also confirmed for "Billboard" that the band would return to the studio in 2012 to record the follow-up to "Battle for the Sun".


title: Placebo (band)

text: From April to September 2012, Placebo toured Europe. In June and July 2012, Placebo also played exclusive concerts in Madrid, Paris, Rome, Zurich and Hamburg for the launch of the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class. The band canceled a concert during an Austrian festival due to Molko's health problems, leaving the stage after only one song.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In August 2012, Molko revealed on Italy's Rai Radio 2 that a new single titled "B3" would be released in September. A five-track EP titled "B3" was released in October 2012. It was reissued on 10" vinyl for Record Store Day 2013.


title: Placebo (band)

text: During the "Battle for the Sun" tour, Molko and Olsdal both stated on various occasions that they were working on material for the next studio album.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 21 May 2013, Placebo announced the release of their seventh studio album, "Loud Like Love", and confirmed a tour of the United Kingdom in December. On 12 July, the band released a lyric video for the song "Too Many Friends", the first single on the new album, with the official music video being subsequently released in August and featuring author Bret Easton Ellis.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Produced by Adam Noble, the album was released on 16 September 2013 in five different formats. The same day, Placebo streamed live a 90-minute show, "Loud Like Love TV", on their official YouTube channel. The show featured interviews with the band and their collaborators, live performances and behind the scenes content.


title: Placebo (band)

text: ...I see this record as a collection of 10 small fictions, based on my own experience and my own feelings around relationships over the past 20 years, I feel that I've been able to use the device [of] storytelling, which I think I've become a little bit more adept at, create songs with characters. Paradoxically, because of that, I've been able to be more honest, more direct and more personal.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In November–December 2013 the band went on an arena tour in Europe and the United Kingdom to promote the new album. During February–April 2014 Placebo toured Australia, Mexico and South America. Beginning in June 2014, they went on a tour in Russia and Europe. In October 2014, they went on their first full tour of the United States and Canada in six years.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 2 February 2015, the band announced the departure of drummer Steve Forrest. The end of Forrest's career with the band was "very amicable" and occurred due to the drummer's intention to "pursue his own musical ambitions". Placebo announced that for the planned 2015 gigs a new sideman, Matt Lunn, formerly of the band Colour of Fire, who supported Placebo on tour in 2004, would take the drummer's seat. Lunn continued to perform with Placebo during the "A Place for Us to Dream" tour.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 12 February, Placebo announced that they would stream their entire back catalogue for the first time in their history.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In February–March 2015, Placebo toured Ireland and the United Kingdom, culminating with two shows in London's Hammersmith Apollo. During May–July 2015 they toured Europe, Morocco, Russia and Georgia. During the Morocco concert, bassist Stefan Olsdal, who is openly gay, appeared


title: Placebo (band)

text: shirtless, having the number 489 crossed out on his torso, as a protest against Article 489 of the Moroccan Criminal Code, which punishes same-sex relationships with imprisonment. Olsdal also used a rainbow guitar on stage, the rainbow being a well-known LGBT symbol.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Marking twenty years since the release of their debut album, Placebo announced in June 2015 the re-release of their first five albums on 12" coloured vinyl.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 19 August 2015, Placebo performed an MTV Unplugged concert in London. The setlist for this performance consisted of many older Placebo songs, some of them not played live in a decade. On 27 November 2015, "MTV Unplugged" was released on CD, DVD, Blu-ray and vinyl.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In March 2016, Placebo announced the anniversary tour "A Place for Us to Dream – 20 Years of Placebo", with the first dates scheduled for December 2016 in the UK and Ireland. Molko stated that the setlist would include songs that he had sworn never to play again, adding: "This tour is very much for the fans and a chance for us to revisit a lot of our early material. So, if you want to see us play songs like 'Pure Morning' and 'Nancy Boy' which we haven't played in almost ten years and may not play again, then you'd better come along to these shows!"


title: Placebo (band)

text: "Alt.Russia", a documentary containing scenes from the 2014 Placebo tour in Russia, was released on 10 May 2016. Narrated by Stefan Olsdal, the documentary was also a commentary towards the contemporary social and political issues in Russia, especially homophobia.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 4 August 2016, Placebo announced the release of a compilation album, "A Place for Us to Dream" and of an EP, "Life's What You Make It", collecting previously unreleased material. The compilation album and the EP were both released on 7 October 2016. Both contained the new single "Jesus' Son", which was released on 19 August 2016, accompanied by a music video.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 7 October 2016, the band also released a video for the song "Every You Every Me", filmed in 1998 but never shown before to the public.


title: Placebo (band)

text: The band kicked off their 20 Years of Placebo tour in Aarhus, Denmark. The concert was abruptly cut short, however, already two songs into the set, as Molko became incoherent and had to be removed from the stage. An official statement from the band explained that Molko had an adverse reaction to new medication. The tour continued in the next evenings without incidents, the band receiving positive reviews for their performances. During October–November 2016, the band toured Europe and Russia. Placebo's December 2016 concerts in the UK and Ireland featured shoegaze supergroup Minor Victories as the opening act.


title: Placebo (band)

text: In March–April 2017, Placebo toured Mexico. During April–August 2017, they played a string of gigs across Europe, including appearances at Greece's Rockwave Festival and the UK's Latitude Festival. In September 2017, Placebo performed seven shows in Australia. In October 2017, they embarked on a tour of the UK, ending with two shows at the Brixton Academy on 23 and 24 October 2017.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo have participated in the 2018 Meltdown Festival, held at Southbank Centre in June 2018. The festival was curated by long-time Placebo collaborator Robert Smith. In June and July 2018, the band also went on four dates in Italy, Ukraine and Switzerland.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 25 July 2019, Olsdal revealed that Placebo are working on their eighth studio album. In January 2020, Placebo announced a new tour, including festival shows during June–July 2020 in Greece, Spain, Belgium, Ukraine and Russia. In March 2020, Olsdal announced that he and Molko had to put finishing their eighth studio album on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and London being on lockdown, via a post on his official Instagram. On 15 September 2020, Dave McLean, one of Placebo's managers at RIVERMAN, tweeted their eighth studio album would be released in early 2021. On 13 September 2021 an announcement was made that the band will release a new single titled "Beautiful James" on 17 September 2021.


title: Placebo (band)

text: On 4 November 2021, Placebo announced their eighth studio album, "Never Let Me Go". It was released on 25 March 2022 on the indie label So Recordings. On 23 March 2022, Placebo embarked on the "Never Let Me Go" tour, starting with four intimate shows across Europe, followed by an extensive headline expedition, including, among other places, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo's music has typically been labeled as alternative rock. They have, however, also incorporated different sounds in their music throughout their career. Critics have also described the band's sound as pop punk, industrial rock, Britpop, glam rock, gothic rock, electronic rock, post-punk revival, and experimental rock. Progressive rock elements in the band's earlier works along with grunge and punk rock influences were also noted.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo's influences include David Bowie, Can, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Sonic Youth, The Cure, Pixies, Nirvana, The Smiths, PJ Harvey, Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails.


title: Placebo (band)

text: Lyrically, Placebo's music contains many references to drugs and sexuality. The title of the song "Special K", for instance, is slang for ketamine. Molko has been open about his use of recreational drugs: in a 1997 interview with "Kerrang!" magazine he admitted that heroin was "probably the only drug on this planet I haven't tried". However, he later admitted to using heroin as well. Pharmaceutical drugs are also referenced, as evidenced by the band's name as well as the album "Meds" and its title track. Molko admitted in 2003 that many of his initial excesses were due to his mental issues; he was officially diagnosed with major depressive disorder in his late twenties. The singer claimed in 2016 that he gave up drugs completely after the recording and release of "Meds".


title: Placebo (band)

text: Outsider themes are also explored, as evidenced in lyrics such as "the back of the class is where I'm from" on "One of a Kind" and "I'm forever black-eyed/A product of a broken home" on "Black-Eyed". Molko has been quoted as calling the band "for outsiders, by outsiders".


title: Placebo (band)

text: Placebo have been cited as an influence on such bands as My Chemical Romance and Panic! at the Disco.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Kylo Ren is a fictional character in the "Star Wars" franchise. He first appeared as the main antagonist of , in which he is portrayed by Adam Driver. Driver reprised his role in the sequel films "" (2017) and "" (2019), with the character also appearing in "Star Wars Resistance" (2018–2020) and "The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special" (2020).


title: Kylo Ren

text: Kylo Ren is the chosen name of Ben Solo, the child of original "Star Wars" trilogy characters Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa Skywalker. Though initially trained as a Jedi by his uncle Luke Skywalker, Ben was seduced to the dark side of the Force by Supreme Leader Snoke, and aspires to be as powerful as his grandfather, the Sith Lord Darth Vader / Anakin Skywalker. Throughout the sequel trilogy, Kylo Ren serves as the master of the Knights of Ren, a high-ranking member of the First Order, and both an adversary and romantic interest to Rey. After he kills and usurps Snoke as Supreme Leader, Ren discovers that he shares a connection with Rey called a 'Force dyad' and is eventually redeemed like his grandfather before him when he sacrifices himself to help Rey defeat the revived Emperor Palpatine.


title: Kylo Ren

text: In addition to appearing in the films and television series, Kylo Ren has also appeared in related media and merchandising. Driver's performance has received acclaim from critics and fans. For his performance in "The Force Awakens", Driver won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him the first "Star Wars" actor since Alec Guinness to win the award. Driver received a second nomination in the same category for his performance in "The Rise of Skywalker".


title: Kylo Ren

text: Abrams requested that the character's mask be designed to be memorable to a child. As late as March 2014, the film's main antagonist was only known to the production team as "Jedi Killer", and had gone through numerous unapproved design attempts, one of which was reused for Captain Phasma. The same month, Glyn Dillon's design for the character's costume was finally approved. According to Abrams, "the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask," and concept designer Doug Chiang says that the character "takes on [the] persona of [Vader] to haunt Luke." According to "The Force Awakens" costume designer Michael Kaplan,


title: Kylo Ren

text: Driver's casting in the film in an unnamed role was first announced on April 29, 2014. Kylo Ren was first seen from behind, but still not named, in the 88-second "The Force Awakens" teaser trailer released by Lucasfilm on November 28, 2014, wielding a jagged red lightsaber with a crossguard. The name Kylo Ren, as well as the character's design, was revealed by "Entertainment Weekly" in a Lucasfilm-designed Topps-style trading card mock-up on December 11, 2014; a character named "Kybo Ren" was previously featured in the 1985 animated series "". A May 2015 "Vanity Fair" photo shoot by Annie Leibovitz confirmed that Driver would be portraying Kylo.


title: Kylo Ren

text: According to other cast members, Driver is a method actor, which meant that he sometimes stayed in character on set as Ren and left his mask on between scenes. Driver explained that his goal was "to forget you're in "Star Wars" and treat it like any other job that's filled with moments and problems," because from the perspective of the characters living within the film's universe, "Darth Vader is real."


title: Kylo Ren

text: Abrams told "Empire" in August 2015, "Kylo Ren is not a Sith. He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the dark side of the Force." Abrams had previously stated that the character "came to the name Kylo Ren when he joined a group called the Knights of Ren." Robbie Collin of "The Telegraph" described Ren as "a hot-headed, radicalised dark side jihadi, whose red lightsaber splutters and crackles as violently as his temper". Abrams noted, "The lightsaber is something that he built himself, and is as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character." "The Telegraph" also explains that Ren's wild and erratic temper and "angsty" instability make him dangerous. Melissa Leon of "The Daily Beast" describes Ren's use of the Force as "formidable", citing his ability to stop a blaster shot mid-air, immobilize victims and probe their minds against their will.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Kasdan told "Entertainment Weekly" in August 2015, "I've written four "Star Wars" movies now, and there's never been a character quite like the one that Adam plays. I think you're going to see something that's brand new to the saga," noting that the character is "full of emotion". Abrams explained, "I think that what makes Ren so unique is that he isn't as fully formed as when we meet a character such as Darth Vader ... He is not your prototypical mustache-twirling bad guy. He is a little bit more complex than that." Driver said in December 2015 that, despite the visual similarities to Darth Vader, Ren is "unlike any villain the franchise has seen". He explained:


title: Kylo Ren

text: Driver claimed that he was privy to several details of Kylo Ren's backstory during the making of the films. According to Lev Grossman, who interviewed the actor in the lead-up to "The Rise of Skywalker", Driver reported that “both Han Solo and Leia were way too self-absorbed and into this idea of themselves as heroes to really be attentive parents in the way a young and tender Kylo Ren really needed.” The backstory of how Ben Solo became Kylo Ren was elaborated upon in a prequel graphic novel titled "The Rise of Kylo Ren" (written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Will Sliney), which was published and released by Marvel Comics from December 18, 2019 to March 11, 2020.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Certain aspects of Kylo Ren's overall arc across the three films of the Sequel Trilogy were also known to Driver from the start of production on the first film. He claimed that he “had one piece of information of where it was all going...and things were building towards that.” He later clarified:


title: Kylo Ren

text: When asked by IGN in December 2017 if he believed Kylo Ren was capable of redemption, "The Last Jedi" writer/director Rian Johnson replied, "Yeah... Are you kidding? Vader was worse than Kylo ever was, I think, and Vader got redeemed." Citing the complexity of the character, Johnson articulated, “I don’t see the point of trying to get behind his mask and learn more about him if all we’re going to learn is ‘Yeah, he’s just an evil bad guy that needs to be killed.’” "The Rise of Skywalker" co-writer Chris Terrio also supported this position through comparing Kylo with Darth Vader. According to Terrio, “Vader was complicit in genocide and cruelty and depravity. Yet there is this inherent optimism in Star Wars that the light in you is never truly gone. That you can still redeem yourself right up until the last minute – which, in Vader's case, was literally true... Leia never really gave up hope that Kylo could be redeemed, and she knew that Rey was probably the way that it would happen.” Abrams further elaborated on this point:


title: Kylo Ren

text: "The Rise of Skywalker" revealed that Kylo Ren and Rey were two halves of a "dyad" in the Force, which Terrio alternatively described as "sort of soulmate[s] in the Force" and "twins of fate, twins of destiny." Their relationship was also described as a romance by both J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson, with Abrams explaining that, during the production of "The Force Awakens", he perceived them having as much as a "brother-sister thing" as a "romantic thing" because of their spiritual connection in the Force, while Johnson explains the intimacy developed between the two characters in "The Last Jedi" because of their interactions during the Force connections. Johnson also explains about Kylo Ren's appeal for Rey to join him during "The Last Jedi" comparing it with the love confession in the film "Notting Hill":


title: Kylo Ren

text: Kylo Ren first appears in "The Force Awakens" as a high-ranking member in the First Order, a tyrannical regime that has risen from the remains of the Galactic Empire. After arriving at Jakku to retrieve a map containing the coordinates where Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is to be found, Ren kills an old priest named Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow), and captures Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), who has also been sent to recover the map by General Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). Ren soon learns that the pilot had entrusted his astromech droid, BB-8, with the map. Poe flees with the help of rogue stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega), who later finds BB-8, and the scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley). Finn, Rey, and BB-8 escape Jakku in the "Millennium Falcon", and are soon intercepted by the ship's former owner, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and his co-pilot Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew).


title: Kylo Ren

text: It is revealed that Ren is the son of Han and Leia, originally named Ben, and was once one of Luke's Jedi pupils. He was corrupted to the dark side of the Force by the First Order's Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), and helped destroy Luke's new Jedi Academy. However, Ren still feels the pull of the light side of the Force and seeks the strength to overcome it from his grandfather Darth Vader, whose burnt helmet is in Ren's possession. Arriving at Maz Kanata's (Lupita Nyong'o) castle on Takodana, Ren captures Rey, who he senses has seen the map. While interrogating her, he realizes that she is strong with the Force, though unaware of it. Rey finds herself able to resist his powers and experience Ren's emotions, and confronts him over his fear that he will never be as powerful as his grandfather. She later uses the "Jedi mind trick" to compel her stormtrooper guard to let her escape. Han arrives at the First Order's superweapon, Starkiller Base, as part of the Resistance's plan to destroy it.


title: Kylo Ren

text: After Han plants explosives to destroy the base, he confronts Ren—calling him by his real name, Ben—and implores him to abandon the dark side, warning him that Snoke will kill him once he has control of the galaxy. Ren tells Han he feels conflicted, and asks his father for help, which Han promises to give; Ren then ignites his lightsaber, impaling and killing Han. An enraged Chewbacca fires at Ren, wounding him. As Finn and Rey flee the damaged base, Ren follows and confronts them. Finn fights Ren with Anakin Skywalker's recovered lightsaber, but Ren overpowers and severely wounds him. Rey then takes up the lightsaber and, using the Force, begins to overcome Ren, striking him on the face with the lightsaber. Before the duel is finished, they are separated by a seismic fissure created by the collapsing base. Rey and the others escape as Snoke orders General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson) to evacuate the base and bring Ren to him to complete his training.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Ren's inner conflict continues into "The Last Jedi", particularly through his conversations with Rey, with whom he connects through the Force. Rey learns from Luke why Ben Solo turned to the dark side: Luke had seen a vision of the destruction Ben would cause and was briefly tempted to kill him in his sleep; when Ben awoke to see Luke with his lightsaber drawn, he turned on his uncle and apparently destroyed the Jedi Temple. Rey believes that there is still good in Ren, and resolves to bring him back to the light side.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Meanwhile, Ren is reproached by Snoke for his failure to defeat Rey, and Ren tries to prove himself by leading an attack on a lead Resistance starship. He hesitates to destroy it after sensing his mother's presence, but his wingmen destroy the ship's bridge, almost killing Leia. Upon Rey's arrival, Ren captures her and brings her to Snoke, who tortures her for Luke's location before ordering Ren to kill her. Instead of complying, Ren uses the Force to ignite Luke's lightsaber at Snoke's side and cut him in half, and subsequently slays Snoke's royal guard with Rey's assistance. After the guards are slain, Ren reveals to Rey his goal to create a new order in the galaxy, separate from the legacies created by Snoke and Luke, and beseeches Rey to join him. He gets her to acknowledge that her parents abandoned her, and tells her that despite her being a nobody that comes from nowhere, he truly cares about her. Rey hesitates and then refuses to join him, realizing that Ren will not turn back to the light side; the two briefly struggle over Anakin's lightsaber with the Force, resulting in the weapon breaking in half and knocking both warriors unconscious.


title: Kylo Ren

text: After Rey escapes, Ren frames her for Snoke's assassination, uses the Force to choke Hux until he acknowledges Ren as the new Supreme Leader of the First Order, and orders his forces to attack the Resistance base on Crait. When Luke appears during the attack, Ren orders his men to fire on him, to no effect; Luke remains standing, revealing that he is only present as a Force projection, serving as a distraction to allow the Resistance to escape from the First Order. After Luke vanishes, the First Order storms the base, but the Resistance has already evacuated. Ren shares a final look with Rey through the Force before Rey slams the door to the "Millennium Falcon" and escapes with the Resistance.


title: Kylo Ren

text: In "The Rise of Skywalker", Ren has been ruling as the Supreme Leader of the First Order for a year. In the film's beginning, Ren searches for a Sith wayfinder on the planet Mustafar with an army of Stormtroopers to lead him to the Sith planet Exegol, with the hopes of killing the resurrected Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) as a show of his power. When Ren finds the wayfinder and arrives on Exegol, Palpatine reveals that he has been manipulating Ren and the First Order, having created Snoke as a means of turning Ren to the dark side. Palpatine unveils the Final Order, a massive armada of "Xyston"-class Star Destroyers built by the Sith Eternal. Palpatine offers the armada to Ren in a bid to form a new Sith Empire—with Ren as Emperor—on the condition that he kill Rey.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Ren searches the galaxy for Rey and continues corresponding with her through the Force to discern her location. Rey has been searching for a second wayfinder; Ren tries to stop her from finding it. Eventually, Ren informs Rey that she is Palpatine's granddaughter, and furthermore, they are a dyad in the Force with extremely powerful potential when joined together. He urges her once more to take his hand and to overthrow Palpatine together. Rey refuses, but Ren is unwilling to kill her and follows her to Kef Bir, the location of the second wayfinder. Meeting her on the wreckage of the second Death Star, Ren destroys the second wayfinder and duels her. The duel ends with Rey impaling Ren, who had been distracted by his dying mother, Leia, reaching out to him through the Force. A guilt-ridden Rey (also sensing Leia's death) uses the Force to heal Ren and leaves aboard his ship, after telling him that she wanted to take Ben Solo's hand, but not Kylo Ren's. Alone on the wreckage, Ren converses with a memory of his father, Han Solo; he throws away his lightsaber, renouncing his role as Supreme Leader and reclaiming his old identity of Ben Solo.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Ben rushes to help Rey defeat Palpatine on Exegol. Rey senses his presence and uses their Force connection to give him Anakin's lightsaber, which Ben uses to defeat the Knights of Ren. Palpatine then senses Rey and Ben's connection as a dyad in the Force, and absorbs their energy to restore his full power, before casting Ben into an abyss. However, Rey manages to defeat and kill Palpatine before dying from the effort. Ben climbs out of the abyss and finds Rey's inert body. Ben transfers his life essence into her, successfully resuscitating her but sacrificing his own life in the process. They kiss passionately before Ben dies in Rey's arms. His body fades away simultaneously as his mother's body becomes one with the Force at the Resistance base.


title: Kylo Ren

text: In "The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special", Rey begins to train Finn as a Jedi while mourning Ben's death. On the Life Day after his death, Rey uses a blue-green crystal key from the Jedi Temple on Kordoku to open a portal to the World Between Worlds, a dimension that exists outside of time and space, and travel through time to witness the training methods of Jedi Masters past on the Life Days of different years. After being followed through time by Darth Vader (from shortly before his death during the events of "Return of the Jedi"), Rey loses the key to him, who delivers it to his time's Palpatine. Intruigued by the concept of knowing his future, Palpatine travels thirty years into his future with Vader to the Life Day between the events of "The Last Jedi" and "The Rise Skywalker", meeting Supreme Leader Kylo Ren on his ship. Attributing the duo's presence to a "Life Day miracle", Ren eagerly introduces himself to Vader as his grandson, before informing Palpatine of his apparent death at Vader's hand and his own rise as Supreme Leader of the First Order. Unaware of his own subsequent resurrection, Palpatine decides to recruit Ren as his new apprentice, bringing him to his throne room onboard the second Death Star in the past with the intent of having him kill Vader and his time's Luke Skywalker after sending the former to retrieve the latter.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Upon travelling through time to Palpatine's throne room alongside BB-8 and a pre-"A New Hope"-era Luke in order to retrieve the key, Rey is shocked by Ren's presence, who immediately engages her in a lightsaber duel upon recognising the younger Luke. After being distracted by the arrival of Vader and his time's Luke, Rey throws him into Vader, before enlisting Luke's help to fight the pair; as Ren fights Luke, expressing his hatred for him, Luke expresses puzzlement as to who Ren is. Avoiding Palpatine's Force lightning, Rey is intercepted by Ren; to Rey's and Palpatine's surprise, Ren deactivates his lightsaber and invites her again to rule the galaxy alongside him, as BB-8 steals back the key from Palpatine. A saddened Rey looks at Ren, and addressing him as Ben, uses the key to send him back to his ship in his time, where Ren destroys his room in anger.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Kylo Ren appears in the Marvel Comics miniseries "Age of Resistance", part of the "Age of Star Wars" maxi-series composed of one-shot issues focusing on various characters from each trilogy in the Skywalker saga. All of his appearances are set prior to "The Force Awakens". In his own self-titled issue, "Kylo Ren" #1, Ren leads a First Order battalion to victory, succeeding in conquering a planet that Darth Vader had failed to bring under the Empire's control in the past.


title: Kylo Ren

text: In "Finn" #1, Finn briefly encounters Kylo Ren during the former's time as a sanitation worker on Starkiller Base. In "General Hux" #1, Ren and General Hux are stranded together on a hostile planet and are forced to put their mutual enmity aside in order to survive. "Supreme Leader Snoke" #1 showcases Ren's training under Snoke, who subjects Ren to various physical and mental torments in order to foster his anger and strength in the dark side of the Force. Snoke takes Ren to Dagobah, where his uncle Luke Skywalker was trained by Yoda decades before. Entering the cave where Luke once faced a spectral image of Darth Vader, Ren is confronted by similar visions of Luke, Han and Leia. While Ren vanquishes the vision of Luke, he finds himself unable to fully banish the image of his parents, who plead with him to return to the light.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Marvel Comics' "The Rise of Kylo Ren" depicts how Ben Solo fell to the dark side. As a child, he is trained as a Jedi by Luke Skywalker alongside fellow students Voe, Hennix, and Tai. Voe grows jealous of Ben for his superior Force capability and Luke's perceived favoritism. On a mission to the planet Elphrona to investigate an ancient Jedi outpost with Luke and Lor San Tekka, Ben telepathically communicates with Snoke. Upon arriving on the planet, the trio encounters a group of Force-wielding mercenaries known as the Knights of Ren (after their leader). After Ren agrees to retreat, he unmasks and, placing his mask on the ground, offers Ben an open invitation to the group's ranks if he ever desires in the future.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Several years later, Luke apparently tries to kill Ben in his sleep. Ben fights back and is terrified when a bolt of lightning strikes the Jedi Temple, destroying it. Later that night, Voe, Hennix, Tai return from off-planet to find Ben before the burning Temple. Ben confesses his belief that he has killed Luke, and states that he intends to leave the planet. Believing Ben to be responsible for the Temple's destruction, Voe attacks Ben, leading to Hennix being injured in the melee. Ben leaves the planet on a nearby shuttle, with the trio in close pursuit. Ben goes to meet Snoke, who is scarred from a previous encounter with Luke. Snoke encourages Ben to seek out the Knights of Ren. Traveling to the outpost on Elphrona, Ben retrieves Ren's mask and puts it on, putting the pair in communication. After mentioning Snoke, Ren invites Ben to meet the Knights on Vanrak. Before he can leave, he is confronted by his fellow Padawans.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Ben defends himself from Voe's attacks, and uses the Force to catch her after she falls off of a building. Hennix, believing Ben to have killed her, throws his lightsaber at Ben; in deflecting it, Hennix is bisected. Leaving, Ben collapses the bedrock around Voe and Tai and leaves the planet. Later, Ben meets with Ren and his Knights, who informs him that he will need to provide a "good death" for membership. Providing him with a black outfit, the group proceeds to the mine moon of Mimban, where Ben assists the Knights in stealing an artifact. The Knights subsequently execute a group of locals, horrifying Ben. Suddenly, Voe and Tai arrive, having followed Ben through the Force. Voe attacks the Knights of Ren, while Tai reasons with Ben over his decision to leave. Witnessing this, Ren snaps Tai's neck, killing him, and telling Ben that Snoke was wrong about him. Enraged, Ben duels Ren. Meanwhile, Rey senses Ben from across the galaxy without knowing why; Leia senses Ben's fall, and Palpatine manipulates events from afar, having apparently destroyed the Jedi Temple as well. Then, Ben impales Ren, providing him the "good death" he asked for.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Ben proceeds to kill Voe with Ren's lightsaber, then turns to find the Knights of Ren kneeling before him. Later, Ben bleeds his blue Kyber crystal, cracking it in the process, and forges himself a crossguard lightsaber as the voice of Snoke asks him what his new name is.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Kylo Ren is a point of view character in the , , and of the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy by Alan Dean Foster, Jason Fry, and Rae Carson.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Kylo is a playable character in the 2015 "The Force Awakens" add-on to the "Disney Infinity 3.0" video game, with an "Infinity" character figurine available separately. He is also a character in the strategy video game "".


title: Kylo Ren

text: Hasbro has released a Kylo Ren action figure, and a figure in their Black Series line. He is also featured in the Lego "Star Wars" playsets Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle (2015) and Battle on Takodana (2016), as well as a Lego Buildable Figure. The Lego version of Kylo also appears in the 2016 short form animated series "", and as a playable character in "".


title: Kylo Ren

text: In January 2016, Driver reprised the role for a "Star Wars"/"Undercover Boss" sketch on "Saturday Night Live", with Kylo Ren disguising himself as a radar technician named "Matt" to determine what the Starkiller Base employees really think of him. Driver again reprised the role in January 2020 for a follow-up "Saturday Night Live" sketch titled “"Undercover Boss": Where Are They Now?” in which Kylo goes undercover as “Randy,” an entry-level intern on a star destroyer.


title: Kylo Ren

text: In the 2017 Chuck Wendig novel "", Ben Solo is stated as having been born on the planet Chandrila on the same day as a peace treaty is signed between the remnants of the Empire and the New Galactic Republic (about a year after "Return of the Jedi", or 29 years before "The Force Awakens"). Kylo Ren is also mentioned in the 2017 novel "", which takes place before "The Force Awakens".


title: Kylo Ren

text: Kylo appears in "Star Wars Battlefront II", voiced by Matthew Wood and Roger Craig Smith, masked and unmasked respectively. In the game, Kylo interrogates Del Meeko about Lor San Tekka's location (who possess the map to Luke Skywalker) using his Force abilities. When Del finally relents and reveals the map and Lor San Tekka's location, Kylo leaves him for Hask, Del's former comrade in Inferno Squad.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Kylo Ren (voiced once again by Matthew Wood) also appears in the "" series finale episode "The Escape", where he kills Agent Tierny for failing to destroy the Colossus Resistance. Kylo Ren is also one of the numerous voices heard in the of "" in the episode "A World Between Worlds", with an excerpt of Driver's dialogue from "The Force Awakens" being used.


title: Kylo Ren

text: Kylo Ren appears as a walk-around character within at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The character appears during Star Tours – The Adventures Continue and , with the latter featuring the character in audio-animatronic form with Driver providing the voice.


title: Kylo Ren

text: On November 28, 2019, Ichikawa Ebizō XI starred as Kairennosuke in , a kabuki production that re-enacted key events of Kylo Ren in "The Force Awakens" and "The Last Jedi".


title: Kylo Ren

text: The character and Driver's portrayal have received critical acclaim; Driver won the 2016 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal. In January 2018, Kylo was voted seventh greatest movie villain of all time by the readers of "Empire".


title: Kylo Ren

text: Many reviewers commended Ren's conflicted nature and depth, as well as his costume design, and noted there were many places the character could be taken in future installments. Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" praised the character and the actor alike, saying, "He is gorgeously cruel, spiteful and capricious – and unlike the Vader of old, he is given to petulant temper tantrums, with his lightsaber drawn." Terri Schwartz of IGN also called Driver's performance "spectacular", noting that "his performance adds great depth to a character who could have come off as one-dimensional, and the implications of his arc leave a viewer with plenty to think about after they leave the theater." Collin wrote, "To describe Kylo Ren as this film's Vader would be accurate in a sense ... But it would also be to undersell the deep ingenuity with which this astonishing character has been crafted by Abrams, Kasdan and Arndt, and also the wells of emotional tumult Driver invests in him." Comparing the character to the one-note Vader of the 1977 film, Melissa Leon calls Ren "a living battleground between darkness and light, making him a far more resonant and familiar portrayal of that struggle than we've ever seen in "Star Wars" ... [which] makes him a far more interesting villain." Abrams told "Entertainment Weekly", "it was a great joy to work with Adam Driver on this role, because he threw himself into it in a deep and remarkable way." Todd McCarthy of "The Hollywood Reporter" noted, "Ren is given a pronounced inferiority complex, a clever bad guy twist that could be taken to interesting places both in the writing and performance." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" wrote, "The bald-faced attempt to clone Vader, one of the greatest badasses in film history, is clankingly obvious, but Driver, masked and unmasked, gives him hypnotic and haunting contours." Kyle Buchanan of Vulture.com was underwhelmed by the reveal of Driver under the mask. Leon, however, argued:


title: Kylo Ren

text: Some viewers noted that Ren's character arc shares similarities with that of the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe character Jacen Solo, the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia who threatens the galaxy as a fallen Jedi. Additionally, critics have noted a resemblance between Ren's character design and that of Revan, the protagonist of "".


title: Lynching

text: Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an extreme form of informal group social control, and it is often conducted with the display of a public spectacle (often in the form of a hanging) for maximum intimidation. Instances of lynchings and similar mob violence can be found in every society.


title: Lynching

text: In the United States, where the word for "lynching" likely originated, lynchings of African Americans became frequent in the South during the period after the Reconstruction era, especially during the nadir of American race relations.


title: Lynching

text: The origins of the word "lynch" are obscure, but it likely originated during the American Revolution. The verb comes from the phrase "Lynch Law", a term for a punishment without trial. Two Americans during this era are generally credited for coining the phrase: Charles Lynch (1736–1796) and William Lynch (1742–1820), both of whom lived in Virginia in the 1780s. Charles Lynch is more likely to have coined the phrase, as he was known to have used the term in 1782, while William Lynch is not known to have used the term until much later. There is no evidence that death was imposed as a punishment by either of the two men. In 1782, Charles Lynch wrote that his assistant had administered Lynch's law to Tories "for Dealing with the negroes &c".


title: Lynching

text: Charles Lynch was a Virginia Quaker, planter, and Patriot who headed a county court in Virginia which imprisoned Loyalists during the American revolutionary war, occasionally imprisoning them for up to a year. Although he lacked proper jurisdiction for detaining these persons, he claimed this right by arguing wartime necessity. Subsequently, Lynch prevailed upon his friends in the Congress of the Confederation to pass a law that exonerated him and his associates from wrongdoing. Lynch was concerned that he might face legal action from one or more of those whom he had imprisoned, notwithstanding that the Patriots had won the war. This action by the Congress provoked controversy, and it was in connection with this that the term "Lynch law", meaning the assumption of extrajudicial authority, came into common parlance in the United States. Lynch was not accused of racist bias. He acquitted Black people accused of murder on three occasions. He was accused, however, of ethnic prejudice in his abuse of Welsh miners.


title: Lynching

text: William Lynch from Virginia claimed that the phrase was first used in a 1780 compact signed by him and his neighbors in Pittsylvania County. While Edgar Allan Poe claimed that he found this document, it was probably a hoax.


title: Lynching

text: A 17th-century legend of James Lynch fitz Stephen, who was Mayor of Galway in Ireland in 1493, says that when his son was convicted of murder, the mayor hanged him from his own house. The story was proposed by 1904 as the origin of the word "lynch". It is dismissed by etymologists, both because of the distance in time and place from the alleged event to the word's later emergence, and because the incident did not constitute a lynching in the modern sense.


title: Lynching

text: The archaic verb "linch", to beat severely with a pliable instrument, to chastise or to maltreat, has been proposed as the etymological source; but there is no evidence that the word has survived into modern times, so this claim is also considered implausible.


title: Lynching

text: Lynchings took place in the United States both before and after the American Civil War, most commonly in Southern states and Western frontier settlements and most frequently in the late 19th century. They were often performed by self-appointed commissions, mobs, or vigilantes as a form of punishment for presumed criminal offences. From 1883 to 1941 there were 4,467 victims of lynching. Of these, 4,027 were male, and 99 female. 341 were of unknown gender, but are assumed to be likely male. In terms of ethnicity; 3,265 were black, 1,082 were white, 71 were Mexican or of Mexican descent, 38 were American Indian, ten were Chinese, and one was Japanese. At the first recorded lynching, in St. Louis in 1835, a Black man named McIntosh who killed a deputy sheriff while being taken to jail was captured, chained to a tree, and burned to death on a corner lot downtown in front of a crowd of over 1,000 people.