TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
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Perennial, shrub, tree, generally fleshy
Stem cylindric, spheric, or flat; surface smooth, tubercled, or ribbed (fluted); nodal areoles bear flowers, generally bear spines from center ("central spines") and margin ("radial spines") (Opuntia areoles bear small, barbed, deciduous bristles sometimes called glochids, generally also bear spines)
Leaf generally 0
Flower generally solitary, bisexual, sessile, ± radial; perianth parts generally many, grading from scale-like to petal-like; stamens many; ovary appearing inferior, ± submerged in stem, so generally with areoles on surface, style 1, stigma lobes generally many
Fruit generally fleshy, generally indehiscent, spiny, scaly, or smooth
Seeds many
Genera in family: 93 genera, ± 2000 species: especially Am deserts; many cultivated
Etymology: (Greek: thorny plant)
Reference: [Benson 1982 Cacti of US & Can; Hunt & Taylor eds 1990 Bradleya 8:85107]
Shrubs, trees; roots fibrous
Stem generally erect, < 12 m; segments flat to cylindric, generally firmly attached; tubercles generally elongate along stem; ribs sometimes present; spines 0many, sometimes flat, tip smooth or barbed, epidermis persistent or separating as a papery sheath; small, barbed deciduous bristles generally many
Leaf small, conic, fleshy, deciduous, obvious on young stems and ovaries
Fruit juicy, fleshy or dry; wall thick, bearing areoles
Seed dark brown, encased in a bony, whitish aril
Species in genus: 200 species: Am; O. ficus-indica cultivated for food, others for ornamental
Etymology: (Possibly from Papago Indian name ("opun") for this food plant; or named for a spiny plant of Opus, Greece)
Spines smaller, fewer in shade forms; when yellow, blacken with age.Hybridization common within subgenera.
Native |
Stem 12 m; trunk 1; main branches few, short, spreading, becoming black; segments cylindric, terminal generally < 10 cm, 46 cm diam, easily detached; tubercle 411 mm, 3 mm high; spines 410, < 2.5 cm, very pale yellow-brown, sheath translucent to pale brown
Flower: inner perianth 1.54 cm, yellow; filaments green
Fruit 12 cm, leathery, tubercled, yellow; spines 0 or bristles few
Seed34 mm, generally sterile
Chromosomes: 2n=33 (rarely 22)
Ecology: Rocky fans, benches, with creosote bush
Elevation: < 1000 m.
Bioregional distribution: Mojave Desert (Kelso Dunes), Sonoran Desert
Distribution outside California: s Nevada, Arizona, n Mexico
Flowering time: Apr
Reproduces primarily by rooting of detached segments
Recent taxonomic note: Cylindropuntia bigelovii (Engelm.) F.M. Knuth
Horticultural information: DRN, DRY, SUN: 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.