Cylindropuntia bigelovii |
Cylindropuntia ganderi |
|
---|---|---|
teddy-bear cholla |
Gander cholla, Gander's buckhorn cholla, Gander's cholla |
|
Habit | Shrubs, ascending, with strict branches, 0.5–1.5 m. Stem segments firmly attached, green, (5–)10–26 × (1.7–)2.5–4.5 cm; tubercles prominent, narrowly elliptic to oval, often subribbed, (0.9–)1.3–2.6 cm; areoles elliptic to obdeltate, 4–7 × 2.5–5 mm; wool yellowish tan, aging gray. | |
Spines | 11–18(–28) per areole, at most areoles, moderately to wholly obscuring stems, spreading or erect, whitish, pale yellow to pinkish tan to reddish, aging brown or black, terete or abaxial spines basally flattened, grading in length, the longest porrect to reflexed, 2–2.5(–3.5) cm, with 0–6 bristlelike spines at areole margins; sheaths slightly baggy, whitish becoming yellow to golden apically. |
|
Glochids | in thin adaxial crescent, yellow or tan to rusty, 0.5–6 mm. |
|
Flowers | inner tepals greenish yellow, often with tips reddish abaxially, spatulate, 22–30 mm, apiculate to emarginate-apiculate; filaments yellow-green to green; anthers yellow to orange-yellow; style cream to yellow, sometimes basally greenish; stigma lobes greenish cream, cream or yellow. |
|
Fruits | yellowish, drying tan, globose, tuberculate, budlike with spines similar to those of stem segments but slightly shorter, often reflexed; proximal tubercles slightly elongated if fruits fertile; umbilicus 4–5 mm deep; areoles 22–32(–40). |
|
Seeds | pale yellow, angular-suborbicular, flattened to slightly warped, 4.5–6 × 4.5–5.7 mm, sides with 3–5 depressions; girdle smooth, not protruding. |
|
2n | = 22. |
|
Cylindropuntia bigelovii |
Cylindropuntia ganderi |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring (Mar–May). | |
Habitat | Desert alluvial flats, bajadas, sandy, gravelly to rocky substrates | |
Elevation | 100-1000 m (300-3300 ft) | |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NV; nw Mexico
|
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
|
Discussion | Varieties 2 (1 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
In the north part of its range, Cylindropuntia ganderi intergrades with C. californica var. parkeri. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 4, p. 109. | FNA vol. 4, p. 115. |
Parent taxa | Cactaceae > subfam. Opuntioideae > Cylindropuntia | Cactaceae > subfam. Opuntioideae > Cylindropuntia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Subordinate taxa | ||
Synonyms | Opuntia bigelovii | Opuntia acanthocarpa subsp. ganderi, Opuntia acanthocarpa var. ganderi, Opuntia ganderi |
Name authority | (Engelmann) F. M. Knuth: in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktus-ABC, 125. (1935) | (C. B. Wolf) Rebman & Pinkava: J. Arizona-Nevada Acad. Sci. 33: 150. (2001) |
Web links |