Cylindropuntia spinosior

(Engelmann) F. M. Knuth in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth

in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktus-ABC, 126. 1935.

Common names: Cane cholla walkingstick cactus
Basionym: Opuntia whipplei var. spinosior Engelmann Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 3: 307. 1856
Synonyms: Opuntia spinosior (Engelmann) Toumey Opuntia spinosior var. neomexicana Toumey
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Mentioned on page 105, 106, 107, 109.

Trees, compact, widely branching, 0.4–2 m. Stem segments firmly attached, whorled or subwhorled, green to purple, 5–23 × 1.3–3.5 cm; tubercles crowded, pronounced, oval to narrowly oval, 0.5–1.2 (–1.5) cm; areoles broadly obdeltate to elliptic, 4.5–7 × 2–4 mm; wool yellow to tan, aging gray to black. Spines (4–) 6–18 (–24) per areole, at most areoles, interlacing with spines of adjacent areoles, pale tan (rarely yellowish), pinkish to redbrown; abaxial spines erect to usually deflexed, terete, often flattened basally, 8–19 mm; adaxial spines erect or spreading, subterete; ± bristlelike spines at areole abaxial margins; sheaths persisting, uniformly whitish, not baggy. Glochids in inconspicuous adaxial tuft, yellow to tan, aging gray, 1–2 mm. Flowers: inner tepals rose to red-purple, bronze-purple, or yellow, sometimes pale greenish yellow or whitish, spatulate, 18–35 mm, emarginate-apiculate; filaments deep purple to pink-purple, sometimes green; anthers pale-yellow; style white or pink to purple distally; stigma lobes white to cream. Fruits rarely proliferating, yellow, sometimes tinged reddish to purplish, broadly cylindric, 20–50 × 17–30 mm, fleshy, strongly tuberculate, spineless; areoles 28–50 (–62); tubercles longer in distal portion of fruit; umbilicus to 10 mm deep. Seeds pale-yellow, suborbicular to oval in outline, flattened to warped, 4–5 × 3–4 mm, sides with 0–3 large depressions; girdle smooth. 2n = 22.


Phenology: Flowering spring–early summer (Apr–Aug).
Habitat: Desert and plains grasslands, extending onto Sonoran Desert flats, sandy to loamy soils
Elevation: 300-2000 m

Distribution

V4 211-distribution-map.gif

Ariz., N.Mex., Mexico (Chihuahua), Mexico (Sonora)

Discussion

Cylindropuntia spinosior forms hybrids with C. acanthocarpa var. major, C. arbuscula, C. fulgida (see 6. C. ×kelvinensis), C. leptocaulis (see discussion under 3. C. ×tetracantha), and C. versicolor (= C. ×grantiorum P. V. Heath). Introgression between C. spinosior and C. imbricata occurs in a more or less continuous band from central New Mexico to Chihuahua, Mexico. The hybrids between C. spinosior and C. acanthocarpa var. major are sprawling shrubs with irregular branching pattern and have spine clusters with one or more spines longer than others and fleshy fruits, some with one to few spines per fruit. Chromosome numbers of hybrids are all reported as 2n = 22.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Cylindropuntia spinosior"
flattened +  and terete +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (1.9 cm19 mm <br />0.019 m <br />) +
spreading +  and erect +
pale-yellow +
cushionlike +
gray +  and tan +
0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
28 +  and 50 +
broadly obdeltate +  and elliptic +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
Donald J. Pinkava +
(Engelmann) F. M. Knuth in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth +
Opuntia whipplei var. spinosior +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
Cane cholla +  and walkingstick cactus +
Ariz. +, N.Mex. +, Mexico (Chihuahua) +  and Mexico (Sonora) +
300-2000 m +
purple to pink-purple +
salverform +, cup-shaped +  and rotate +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
tinged reddish;purplish +
indehiscent +
persistent +, long +  and deciduous +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
proliferating +
tuberculate +
cylindric +
1.7 cm17 mm <br />0.017 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
Desert and plains grasslands, extending onto Sonoran Desert flats, sandy to loamy soils +
1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br /> (3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br />) +
deciduous +
flattened +  and conic +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
succulent +
tuberculate +
fluted;spheric;depressed-spheric or club-shaped +
tinged color +
sometimes covered by outgrowths of proximal portion of style base or of flower tube wall +  and open +
persistent +  and deciduous +
Flowering spring–early summer (Apr–Aug). +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktus-ABC, +
3;2;2;30 +
tuberlike +
pale-yellow +
0.4mm;12mm +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
flattened;warped +
0.19 cm1.9 mm <br />0.0019 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
persisting +
deciduous +  and persistent +
conspicuous +
6 (?) +  and 18 (?) +
flattened +
hard +  and rigid +
decurrent +
winged +  and unsegmented +
tuberculate +  and smooth +
subwhorled +  and whorled +
40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br /> (50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br />) +
green +  and purple +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (23 cm230 mm <br />0.23 m <br />) +
1.3 cm13 mm <br />0.013 m <br /> (3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br />) +
segmented +
woody +  and succulent +
white +  and cream +
pink +  and purple +
Opuntia spinosior +  and Opuntia spinosior var. neomexicana +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Cylindropuntia spinosior +
Cylindropuntia +
species +
dull +  and glossy +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
oval +  and narrowly oval +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
terrestrial;epiphytic or epipetric +
gray +  and black +