Cylindropuntia imbricata |
Cylindropuntia versicolor |
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coyonostyle, tree cholla |
staghorn cholla |
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Habit | Trees, with short trunks, or large shrubs, widely branching, (1–)1.5–2.5(–5) m. Stem segments firmly attached, whorled or subwhorled, gray-green, cylindric to weakly clavate, 10–40 × 1.5–4 cm; tubercles very prominent, widely spaced, (1.5–)2–5 cm; areoles elliptic, 5–8× 3–4 mm; wool yellow to tan, aging gray to black. | Trees or shrubs, openly branching at acute angles, to 2 m. Stem segments whorled or subwhorled, purple to green-purple, 4–18 × 1–2 cm; tubercles prominent, elongate-oval, 1–2(–2.5) cm; areoles subcircular, 3.5–4 mm diam.; wool tan to brown, aging gray. | ||||
Spines | (5–)8–15(–30) per areole or spineless to nearly spineless, usually at most areoles, not obscuring stems, spreading, straight or slightly curved, silver to yellow to usually ± red or tan to brown, stout, terete or sometimes flattened basally, 8–30(–40) mm subequal; sheaths silver to yellow to usually tan to dirty white, yellow tipped. |
6–8 per areole (1–2 bristlelike spines) increasing with time, well distributed along stem, slightly interlacing with spines of adjacent areoles, short; abaxial spines usually reflexed, whitish, pinkish to red-brown, lightly flattened, the longest 10–18 mm; adaxial spines erect or spreading, rich red-brown, gray coated basally, subterete, 6–11 mm; sheaths grayish, tipped brown or yellow to golden Glochids in small adaxial tuft or crescent, dark yellow, to 1 mm. |
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Glochids | in dense adaxial tuft, pale yellow, 0.5–3 mm. |
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Flowers | inner tepals dark pink to magenta to red-magenta, obovate, apiculate, 15–35 mm; filaments green basally to pink to magenta distally; anthers yellow; style light green basally or pink to red-magenta apically; stigma lobes green or cream. |
inner tepals yellow-green, yellow to gold or bronze, or red to rose or magenta, spatulate, apiculate; filaments yellowish green; anthers yellow; style whitish to pale bronze; stigma lobes whitish. |
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Fruits | not proliferating, yellow, obovoid, 24–45 × 20–40 mm, fleshy, tuberculate, spineless; areoles 18–30; tubercles nearly equal in length or longer in proximal portion of fruit, prominent (occasionally smooth at maturity); umbilicus 7–14 mm deep. |
often proliferating, yellowish green or tinged red to purple, often stipitate, obovate, 25–40 × 10–20 mm, leathery-fleshy, tuberculate or smooth, essentially spineless; tubercles prominent, at first, subequal in length or proximal ones longer, fertile ones swelling and becoming smooth; umbilicus to 9 mm deep; areoles 20–30. |
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Seeds | yellow-tan, subcircular to angled, warped, 2.5–4 mm diam., sides smooth to slightly lumpy; girdle usually narrow, not protruding. |
yellowish, polygonal in outline, warped, 3.5–5.5 × 2.5–5 mm, sides nearly flattened with depressions and protrusions to angular subspheric; girdle smooth or in a groove. |
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2n | = 22. |
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Cylindropuntia imbricata |
Cylindropuntia versicolor |
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Phenology | Flowering spring (Apr–Jun). | |||||
Habitat | Sonoran Desert, desert scrub, flats, washes, rocky hillsides, canyons | |||||
Elevation | 600-1300 m (2000-4300 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AZ; CO; KS; NM; OK; TX; n Mexico
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AZ; Mexico (Sonora)
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Discussion | Varieties 2+ (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Cylindropuntia versicolor forms hybrids with C. acanthocarpa var. major, C. arbuscula (= C. ×vivipara), C. leptocaulis (see discussion under 3. C. ×tetracantha), and C. spinosior (= C. ×grantiorum P. V. Heath). Cylindropuntia ×grantiorum, found in eastern to south-central Arizona, is intermediate between the parental species in values for the number of spines per stem areole, stem segment diameter and color, and fruit tubercles. The hybrids between C. versicolor and C. acanthocarpa var. major, which occur in south-central Arizona, have fleshy, tuberculate fruits, often with one or two short permanent spines at apex and longer and more numerous spines per stem areole. Cylindropuntia versicolor itself may be of hybrid origin. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 4, p. 112. | FNA vol. 4, p. 109. | ||||
Parent taxa | Cactaceae > subfam. Opuntioideae > Cylindropuntia | Cactaceae > subfam. Opuntioideae > Cylindropuntia | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | family cactaceae Cereus imbricatusH, Opuntia imbricata | Opuntia versicolor, Opuntia arborescens var. versicolor, Opuntia thurberi subsp. versicolor | ||||
Name authority | (Haworth) F. M. Knuth: in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktus-ABC, 125. (1935) | (Engelmann ex J. M. Coulter) F. M. Knuth: in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktus-ABC, 125. (1935) | ||||
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