Opuntia aureispina

(S. Brack & K. D. Heil) Pinkava & B. D. Parfitt

J. Arizona-Nevada Acad. Sci. 33: 150. 2001.

Basionym: Opuntia macrocentra var. aureispina S. Brack & K. D. Heil Cact. Succ. J. (Los Angeles) 60: 17, fig. 4. 1988
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Mentioned on page 143.

Shrubs or trees, with short spiny trunks, erect, to 1 (–1.5) m. Stem segments not disarticulating, light blue-green to yellow-green, flattened, circular to obovate, 8–12 × 8–12 cm, glaucous, ± tuberculate, glabrous; areoles 6–8 per diagonal row across midstem segment, oblong, 4–5 × 1–3 mm; wool brown to blackish. Spines usually 4–12 per areole, evenly distributed on stem segments, spreading, bright-yellow to orange, redbrown at extreme base, aging tan to blackish, not chalky white, acicular; major spines (1–) 3–5 (–6) per areole, sometimes flattened and/or curved, 20–60 mm; smaller spines 1–7 per areole, slender, to 20 mm. Glochids well spaced in very narrow row encircling areole, subapical tuft not or poorly developed, yellow, unequal in length, to 5 mm. Flowers: inner tepals yellow with orange to red bases, obovate, 30–40 mm; filament yellow to pale green; anthers pale-yellow; style yellow, sometimes basally pinkish; stigma lobes green. Fruits green to reddish, turning tan, burlike, 30–40 × 20–25 mm, beginning fleshy, quickly drying, glabrous, bearing several rigid, yellow spines; areoles 12–25. Seeds tan, flattened, irregular in outline, 3–6 mm diam.; girdle protruding to 1 mm. 2n = 22.


Phenology: Flowering spring (May).
Habitat: Limestone desert flats, low hills
Elevation: 500-600 m

Discussion

Opuntia aureispina hybridizes with O. phaeacantha (= O. ×spinosibacca M. S. Anthony) and O. macrocentra (= O. ×rooneyi M. P. Griffith).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Opuntia aureispina"
pale-yellow +
cushionlike +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
12 +  and 25 +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
Donald J. Pinkava +
(S. Brack & K. D. Heil) Pinkava & B. D. Parfitt +
orange +  and red +
Opuntia macrocentra var. aureispina +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
Tex. +  and Mexico (Coahuila) +
500-600 m +
yellow +  and pale green +
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 />) +
spineless +  and stipitate +
burlike +  and spiny +
green;reddish +
straight +
indehiscent +
persistent +, long +  and deciduous +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br />) +
proliferating +
tuberculate +  and smooth +
clavate +  and cylindric ovoid or obovoid +
fleshy +  and juicy or dry +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br />) +
0.03 cm0.3 mm <br />3.0e-4 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
foveolate +  and reticulate +
Limestone desert flats, low hills +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 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 +
open +  and simple +
sometimes covered by outgrowths of proximal portion of style base or of flower tube wall +  and open +
persistent +  and deciduous +
Flowering spring (May). +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
J. Arizona-Nevada Acad. Sci. +
3;2;2;30 +
tuberlike +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
flattened +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
not sheathed +
distributed +
7.5 cm75 mm <br />0.075 m <br /> (17 cm170 mm <br />0.17 m <br />) +
tan +, yellow +, not chalky white +  and blackish +
deciduous +  and persistent +
30mm +  and 40mm +
conspicuous +
Several (?) +, 3 (?) +  and 5 (?) +
flattened +  and acicular +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
fleshy +  and rigid +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
decurrent +
winged +  and unsegmented +
tuberculate +  and smooth +
not disarticulating +
60 cm600 mm <br />0.6 m <br /> (120 cm1,200 mm <br />1.2 m <br />) +
light blue-green +  and yellow-green +
8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br />) +
glabrous +  and glaucous +
8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br />) +
segmented +
woody +  and succulent +
pinkish +  and yellow +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Opuntia aureispina +
species +
dull +  and glossy +
yellow +  and paler +
segmented +
100 cm1,000 mm <br />1 m <br /> (150 cm1,500 mm <br />1.5 m <br />) +
tree +  and shrub +
terrestrial;epiphytic or epipetric +
brown +  and blackish +