Key to Cylindropuntia

View taxon page for Cylindropuntia

(For a list of species in Cylindropuntia, use the above link.)

Jepson Manual glossary definitions can be seen by moving your cursor over words underlined with dots.

1. Fruit generally spineless or occasionally with few thin, deciduous spines, generally fleshy to leathery in age, occasionally slow-drying

2. Fruit generally bearing flowers; perianth purple-red ..... C. prolifera

2' Fruit not bearing flowers; perianth white to yellow, green, or red-brown

3. Terminal stem segment > 3 × longer than wide

4. Stem 

decumbent 

lying mostly flat on the ground but with tips curving up.

to 

erect 

Upright; vertically oriented.

, spines appearing sparse, spines of stem areoles generally ± equal, tubercles generally < 20 mm, oval; coastal, < 250 m ..... C. californica var. californica (2)

4' Stem erect, spines rather dense or if appearing sparse then tubercles generally > 20 mm, 

elliptic 

In the shape of a flattened circle or ellipse; wider than linear

to elongate, spines of stem areoles generally with 1–3 longer central; inland, generally > 700 m ..... C. bernardina (2)

3' Terminal stem segment generally < 3 × longer than wide

5. Tubercle length ± = width ..... C. bigelovii

5' Tubercle length ± 2 × width

6. Spines 7–10 per tubercle; fruit < 2.5 cm; seed 0 or irregularly shaped, < 3 mm ..... C. fosbergii

6' Spines 9–16 per tubercle; fruit 2.5–3.5 cm; seed ± spheric, ± 3 mm ..... C. munzii

1' Fruit generally spiny, generally dry at maturity

7. Stem < 1 cm diam, tubercle generally < 1 mm high ..... C. ramosissima

7' Stem > 1.5 cm diam, tubercle > 3 mm high

8. Terminal stem segment generally < 1 dm, tubercle length < 2 × width

9. Generally erect shrubs with 1 to few 

ascending 

Curving or angling upward from base, or about 30-60 degrees less than vertical or away from axis of attachment.

to erect main trunks, distance between trunk 

nodes 

Position on a stem from which one or more structures (especially leaves, buds, branches, or flowers) arise.

(main branches) generally >= 10 cm, with 1–2 branches per trunk 

node 

Position on a stem from which one or more structures (especially leaves, buds, branches, or flowers) arise.

; inner perianth parts yellow-green; filaments green to pale yellow; styles pale yellow-green ..... C. echinocarpa

9' Generally low shrubs with several decumbent to ascending main trunks, distance between trunk nodes generally < 5 cm, with >= 3 branches per trunk node; inner perianth parts pale to dark pink-purple, occasionally pale yellow-green; filaments generally tinged pink-purple; style generally tinged pale to dark pink-purple ..... C. chuckwallensis

8' Terminal stem segment generally > 1 dm, tubercle length > 3 × width

10. Stem generally branched only distally; trunk generally 1; inner perianth parts generally yellow ..... C. acanthocarpa var. acanthocarpa

10' Stem generally branched near base; trunks several to many; inner perianth parts yellow-green, yellow, bronze, to red

11. Filaments red to magenta; perianth parts yellow, bronze, to red; e DSon (extreme se San Diego Co., sw Imperial Co.) ..... C. wolfii

11' Filaments green to yellow; perianth parts yellow to yellow-green; sw SnJV (Cuyama Valley), s SCoRO (Cuyama River Canyon), s SCo, PR, DSon

12. Stem decumbent to erect, spines appearing sparse, tubercles generally < 20 mm, oval; coastal, < 250 m ..... C. californica var. californica (2)

12' Stem erect, spines rather dense or if appearing sparse then tubercles generally > 20 mm, elliptic to elongate; inland, generally > 250 m

13. Spines generally not prominent, not obscuring young stem segments; stem segments 14–43 cm, tubercles 16–35 mm ..... C. bernardina (2)

13' Spines prominent, obscuring young stem segments; stem segments 10–26 cm, tubercles 11–25 mm ..... C. ganderi

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Citation for an individual treatment: [Author of taxon treatment] [year]. [Taxon name] in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, [URL for treatment]. Accessed on .

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