Opuntia chisosensis

(M. S. Anthony) D. J. Ferguson

Cact. Succ. J. (Los Angeles) 58: 124. 1986.

Basionym: Opuntia lindheimeri var. chisosensis M. S. Anthony Amer. Midl. Naturalist 55: 252, fig. 26. 1956
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Mentioned on page 136.

Shrubs, erect, to 1 m. Stem segments not easily detached, bluish to gray-green, flattened, circular to broadly obovate, 15–30 × 12–25 cm, nearly smooth, glabrous; areoles 5–7 per diagonal row across midstem segment, elliptic to obovate, 3–8 × 2–6 mm; wool tan, aging blackish. Spines 1–5 per areole, spreading, yellow to orange, tipped yellow, darkening with age (at higher elevations), or dark redbrown (lower elevations), ± acicular, longest 20–67 mm, terete to flattened near base, often curved. Glochids widely spaced, in crescent at adaxial margin of areole, partially encircling areoles, and in poorly developed subapical tuft, yellow, of irregular lengths, tending to elongate towards bases of areoles, to 4 mm. Flowers: inner tepals pale-yellow to buff throughout, to 25–30 mm; filaments pale green; anthers and style yellow; stigma lobes green. Fruits reddish purple, ellipsoid to spheric, barrel-shaped, 33–45 × 40–50 mm, juicy, base not or little tapered, glaucous, spineless; areoles 16–20, mostly near apex. Seeds yellow to tan, 3.5–4.5 × 3–4 mm diam.; girdle protruding to 1 mm. 2n = 22.


Phenology: Flowering late spring (May).
Habitat: Pine-oak and mixed conifer forests, grasslands
Elevation: 1600-2200 m

Discussion

Opuntia chisosensis is local in the Chisos Mountains in western Texas, and it has been reported from Sierra del Carmen in Coahuila, Mexico by Ferguson, but this has not been confirmed by the author. It is perhaps related to, or part of, the O. azurea Rose complex in northern Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Opuntia chisosensis"
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 +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
16 +  and 20 +
elliptic +  and obovate +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
Donald J. Pinkava +
(M. S. Anthony) D. J. Ferguson +
tapered +  and elongate +
Opuntia lindheimeri var. chisosensis +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
1600-2200 m +
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 +
reddish purple +
straight +
indehiscent +
persistent +, long +  and deciduous +
3.3 cm33 mm <br />0.033 m <br /> (4.5 cm45 mm <br />0.045 m <br />) +
proliferating +
tuberculate +  and smooth +
barrel--shaped +, ellipsoid +  and spheric +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 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 /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
foveolate +  and reticulate +
Pine-oak and mixed conifer forests, grasslands +
oblong +  and spatulate +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 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 late spring (May). +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
Cact. Succ. J. (Los Angeles) +
3;2;2;30 +
tuberlike +
yellow +  and tan +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
warped;generally circular;reniform 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 />) +
not sheathed +
7.5 cm75 mm <br />0.075 m <br /> (17 cm170 mm <br />0.17 m <br />) +
dark redbrown +, darkening +, tipped yellow +, yellow +  and orange +
deciduous +  and persistent +
conspicuous +
with hairlike bristles +  and setose +
1 (?) +  and 5 (?) +
terete +  and flattened +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (6.7 cm67 mm <br />0.067 m <br />) +
hard +  and rigid +
decurrent +
winged +  and unsegmented +
tuberculate +  and smooth +
60 cm600 mm <br />0.6 m <br /> (120 cm1,200 mm <br />1.2 m <br />) +
bluish +  and gray-green +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
nearly smooth +  and tuberculate +
12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br /> (25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br />) +
segmented +
woody +  and succulent +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Opuntia chisosensis +
species +
dull +  and glossy +
yellow +  and paler +
segmented +
terrestrial;epiphytic or epipetric +
blackish +  and tan +