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Gander cholla, Gander's buckhorn cholla, Gander's cholla

Tucson pricklypear

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. Shrubs, openly branched, 0.5–1.3 m. Stem segments usually alternate, green to gray-green (or reddish), 5–28 × 0.7–1.4 cm; tubercles moderately prominent, narrowly elongate, 1.5–3 cm; areoles subcircular, 1.5–3 mm in diam.; wool 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.

(0–)1–4 per areole, in all but proximal areoles of stem segment, usually all deflexed, yellow with whitish to pinkish basal coating, moderately stout to acicular, the longest 1.5–2.8 cm;

sheaths whitish at bases to golden at tips.

Glochids

in thin adaxial crescent, yellow or tan to rusty, 0.5–6 mm.

in adaxial tuft and marginal about areole, yellow, 1–3 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.

inner tepals greenish bronze or red to magenta, spatulate- to obovate-apiculate, 10–15 mm;

filaments reddish;

anthers light yellow;

color of style and stigma lobes unknown.

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).

commonly sterile, often proliferating, green, becoming yellow with red blush to red, obconic to obovate-stipitate, 15–23 × 10–20 mm, fleshy, moderately tuberculate;

umbilicus deep, 3–4.5 mm;

areoles 10–18, a few producing 1(–2) short spines.

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.

tan, angularly subcircular to broadly oval, warped, 3–4 × 3–3.5 mm;

girdle broad, lumpy, little protruding.

2n

= 22.

= 22.

Cylindropuntia ganderi

Cylindropuntia ×tetracantha

Phenology Flowering spring (Mar–May). Flowering spring (Apr–May).
Habitat Desert alluvial flats, bajadas, sandy, gravelly to rocky substrates Sonoran desert scrub, flats, hills
Elevation 100-1000 m (300-3300 ft) 500-1000 m (1600-3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Cylindropuntia ×tetracantha (= C. acanthocarpa × C. leptocaulis) is an uncommon hybrid; sympatric hybrids long confused with and usually included in C. ×tetracantha involve C. leptocaulis × C. spinosior, which have spineless, reddish, and strongly tuberculate fruits and long-spreading, subwhorled branches, and C. leptocaulis × C. versicolor, which have spineless, reddish, smooth, and enlarged fruits and a less spreading habit.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 4, p. 115. FNA vol. 4, p. 106.
Parent taxa Cactaceae > subfam. Opuntioideae > Cylindropuntia Cactaceae > subfam. Opuntioideae > Cylindropuntia
Sibling taxa
C. abyssi, C. acanthocarpa, C. arbuscula, C. bigelovii, C. californica, C. davisii, C. echinocarpa, C. fulgida, C. imbricata, C. kleiniae, C. leptocaulis, C. munzii, C. prolifera, C. ramosissima, C. spinosior, C. tunicata, C. versicolor, C. whipplei, C. wolfii, C. ×kelvinensis, C. ×tetracantha
C. abyssi, C. acanthocarpa, C. arbuscula, C. bigelovii, C. californica, C. davisii, C. echinocarpa, C. fulgida, C. ganderi, C. imbricata, C. kleiniae, C. leptocaulis, C. munzii, C. prolifera, C. ramosissima, C. spinosior, C. tunicata, C. versicolor, C. whipplei, C. wolfii, C. ×kelvinensis
Synonyms Opuntia acanthocarpa subsp. ganderi, Opuntia acanthocarpa var. ganderi, Opuntia ganderi Opuntia tetracantha, Opuntia kleiniae var. tetracantha
Name authority (C. B. Wolf) Rebman & Pinkava: J. Arizona-Nevada Acad. Sci. 33: 150. (2001) (Toumey) F. M. Knuth: in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktu s-ABC, 124. (1935)
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