Marjie,
First off, that's not a stupid question by any standards (still being hard on yourself I see :P ). I believe that's a CC, I've had a EC, doesn't look like any EC I've seen.

Planto

I know, not knowing plants is just one thing I am being hard on myself about these days... very stressed anymore. But that's another story.

This is my EC... see how they almost look alike?

only real difference I can see is the EC is a lot rounder on top.
So a Christmas Cactus is what it will be then, till I hear differently, Thanks, been wanting a CC for a while now.. :)

First off NOT a stupid ?
looks like a cc to me not sure which 1 you will have to see the bloom before you can tell for sure. I don't see a bristle mustache which the EC has.
Here is a Holiday Cactus ID link Go down to the Easter Cactus and it shows the bristle clear
cliff

Here is a link that might be useful: Differences in Holiday Cactus

I have no idea which... but I thought (and may be mistaken) that a lot of these plants on the market are hybrids which makes identification very difficult.

Marjie, I believe yours is CC. I posted a picture of my Christmas Cactus and Easter cactus.
This is a great link to see- learn the differences between these two plants: http://cactus.biology.dal.ca/paulS/christmas/christmas.html

CC

EC

Natalia

My guess is that the first pic is a Hatiora gaertneri, Easter cactus hybrid. Reason? The telltale 'hairs' in the segment at left. The flowers are rotate on these, meaning that you can draw a line anywhere on the open blossom and and one side is a mirror image of the other. On a Schlumbergera, you can only draw a line one place to get the mirror image. The plant also looks like it could use more light.

Marjie,
I'm sorry to hear that you're stressed. I think after reading a couple more posts, you will have to wait for a bloom to be completely sure. But whether it 's a Cc or an Easter cactus hybrid, I think you have something not everyone has. In other words, I think what you have is pretty unique. :) Either way, I'm sure it'll be happy to have you as its owner, it looks like it's had a rough life.

Planto

Yes, I'm going to wait and see what blooms and when. :) there are so many differnt types of these cacti, that look "almost" alike, for someone like me, it is hard to see the differences.

Either way, I love how it is coming out of being so abused. It was the one that a woman gave to me planted in MUD! And on its death bed! So either way, it is doing better than I thought it would. I will just wait and see what happens. Then, probibly, maybe, ask again! lol.. but thanks for all the responces and sites.

Marjie :) Playing the waitng game~ again.

Not a stupid question at all. Holiday cactus can be very hard to tell apart without study. The link Cliff provided is an excellent place to start. Although I don't agree that you have Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri). I think the leaf segment is wrong. I think you have a Schlumbergera x buckleyi or possibly Schlumbergera bridgesii but that is doubtful I think. Not many of those around anymore. My S. x buckleyi is over 15 years old and I find the tiny hairs referred to in Cliff's post on the immature leaf segments of that plant. I have even seen them on my S. truncates as well. Here is a photo of my S. x buckleyi, maybe you can tell if yours is like it. Sorry no close up of leaf.

From the look of the brown on the leaves of your plant I am wondering if you have it in a draft or too close to a source of heat? That might be causing that. Just a guess.
Hope it dose well for you.

Blessings,
Dea

Dea- Thanks, I have been trying to study about this, Never was good at "studying" ;) There are so many "hybrids" out there. For me it is very confusing.

The browning of the leaves~~ well the woman that gave it to me wanted me to "save" it. It was outside (in the hot of the summer) in a pot planted in MUD! of all things! That alone was strange for her, she had a very green thumb when it came to plants~~ inside and outside, never will understand what happened with this one...
I did what I could and so far it is not doing too bad.
She wasn't sure of what it was either, the person she got it from says it is a CC. Very huge plant in a doctor's office.

But it's all good. As long as it is healthy for now. :)

I will study more on this, and another plant too and hope it sticks in my brain w/out pushing something else out!! lol.

Marjie~~

Oh dear, that was a bad environment for it. Especially the hot sun. Those marks may be sun burn and if so will stay like that. Too bad. Although they do fine in a little heavier soil (but free draining) than desert cactus they would definitely suffer in MUD:o(
These plants can live for many years and give lots of enjoyment with the proper care. I am glad you rescued it. I had to rescue the one in the photo I posted also. Not as bad a situation as yours but neglected. It took a couple of years for it to recover and begin to bloom again. Good luck with yours.

Dea

Dea~ thanks, gives me hope for the future of some of my other holiday cacti~~ :)

No such thing as a stupid question. How do you learn otherwise? I hope you find the answer to your question. farmerann