Cultivating a love of the Turks Head Cactus

Grade 4 have been learning about our beautiful Turks and Caicos Islands and the outstanding Turks head Cactus. Our first artwork that we did was drawing Turks Head Cactus and then carefully painting them with water colours, paying close attention to detail. The name of our islands comes from the combination of two words: 'Turks' and 'Caicos'.  A commonly-held misconception is that the Turks and Caicos is named after the Turks head cacti. In reality, the nation’s name is likely derived from the pirates and buccaneers that used to lurk in the islands. When the Spanish arrived they thought that the cactus looked like the Turkish Fez hat and they named it Turks Head. The Turks Head Cacti appears on both the Turks and Caicos flag and coat of arms. More about the Turks Head Cactus