Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri

(Engelmann) B. D. Parfitt & Pinkava

Madroño 35: 346. 1988.

Common names: Texas pricklypear
Basionym: Opuntia lindheimeri Engelmann Boston J. Nat. Hist. 6: 207. 1850
Synonyms: Opuntia lindheimeri var. lehmannii L. D. Benson Opuntia lindheimeri var. tricolor (Griffiths) L. D. Benson Opuntia subarmata Opuntia tardispina
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Treatment on page 136. Mentioned on page 132, 133, 135.

Spines (0–) 1–6 per areole, evenly distributed on stem segment to absent, yellow throughout, sometimes with red or redbrown extreme bases, aging blackish, longest 12–75 mm. 2n = 66.


Phenology: Flowering spring (Mar–Jun).
Habitat: Chihuahuan Desert, plains to woodlands and chaparral, sandy to gravelly or rocky soils
Elevation: 0-1900 m

Distribution

V4 255-distribution-map.gif

La., N.Mex., Tex., Mexico, South Africa ()

Discussion

L. D. Benson (1982) grouped all large, yellow-spined plants in the Texas region under Opuntia lindheimeri. Plants known as O. lindheimeri var. lehmannii have large, wavy stem segments that are broader than long. Opuntia lindheimeri var. tricolor (Griffiths) L. D. Benson is a morphotype with long, yellow spines to 75 mm; and O. subarmata Griffiths is a morphotype with spineless or nearly spineless stems.

Although Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri is a hexaploid, like the rest of O. engelmanni, several individuals were recorded as 2n = 22, 44, and ca. 44; however, such numbers require taxon verification.

Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri hybridizes with O. stricta, forming hexaploid O. ×alta Griffiths, and with O. macrorhiza Engelmann, forming pentaploid O. ×edwardsii V. E. Grant & K. A. Grant.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br /> (120 cm1,200 mm <br />1.2 m <br />) +
15cm;40cm +
glaucous +  and glabrous +
tuberculate +
elongate +  and tapering +
10cm;40cm +
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 /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
20 +  and 32 +
subcircular +  and obovate +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
Donald J. Pinkava +
(Engelmann) B. D. Parfitt & Pinkava +
Opuntia lindheimeri +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
Texas pricklypear +
La. +, N.Mex. +, Tex. +, Mexico +  and South Africa () +
0-1900 m +
redbrown +  and red +
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 +
dark red;purple +
straight +
indehiscent +
persistent +, long +  and deciduous +
3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br /> (9 cm90 mm <br />0.09 m <br />) +
proliferating +
tuberculate +  and smooth +
ovate-elongate +  and barrel-shaped +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
0.03 cm0.3 mm <br />3.0e-4 m <br /> (0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br />) +
scattered +  and spaced +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
foveolate +  and reticulate +
Chihuahuan Desert, plains to woodlands and chaparral, sandy to gravelly or rocky soils +
oblong +  and spatulate +
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 (Mar–Jun). +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
3;2;2;30 +
tuberlike +
tan +  and grayish +
0.4mm;12mm +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
flattened;subcircular;deltoid +
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 /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
not sheathed +
distributed +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
blackish +  and yellow +
straight +  and curved +
deciduous +  and persistent +
spreading +  and strongly reflexed +
conspicuous +
with hairlike bristles +  and setose +
1 (?) +  and 6 (?) +
flattened +  and angular +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (7.5 cm75 mm <br />0.075 m <br />) +
hard +  and rigid +
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 />) +
yellow-green +  and blue-green +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (60 cm600 mm <br />0.6 m <br />) +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
nearly smooth +  and tuberculate +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br />) +
segmented +
woody +  and succulent +
yellow-green +  and green +
whitish +  and cream +
Opuntia lindheimeri var. lehmannii +, Opuntia lindheimeri var. tricolor +, Opuntia subarmata +  and Opuntia tardispina +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri +
Opuntia engelmannii +
variety +
dull +  and glossy +
yellow +  and paler +
segmented +
tree +  and shrub +
terrestrial;epiphytic or epipetric +
spreading to sometimes +
blackish +  and tawny +