Cylindropuntia versicolor |
Cylindropuntia davisii |
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staghorn cholla |
Davis cholla, thistle cholla |
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Habit | 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. | Shrubs, densely branched, 0.2–0.6 m; roots with elongate, tuberlike swellings. |
Stem | segments easily detached, whorled, obscuring trunks, light green, 4–6 × 0.8–1.2 cm; tubercles prominent, 1–2 cm; areoles subcircular, 2–3.5 mm in diam.; wool tan. |
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Spines | 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. |
7–13(–21) per areole, at most areoles, spreading, obscuring stems, yellow- to red-brown to nearly black, tipped yellow, subterete to angularly flattened, the longest 1.5–5 cm; sheaths loose fitting, ± yellow to tan, 1.5–2 mm diam. |
Glochids | in adaxial tuft, yellow, 2–4 mm. |
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Flowers | 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. |
inner tepals yellow-green, tinged purple-red, aging reddish brown or bronze, spatulate, 15 mm, apiculate; filaments pale green basally to purplish distally; anthers orange-yellow; style cream to pale green, sometimes faint purple-pink distally; stigma lobes very pale green. |
Fruits | 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. |
usually sterile, often in chains of 2, yellow, top-shaped, 20–30 × 10–20 mm, pulpy, tuberculate, spineless (rarely few-spined); tubercles subequal; umbilicus 5–8 mm deep; areoles 20–35. |
Seeds | 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. |
, when present, yellow-tan, subcircular, flattened, 3 mm diam., sides smooth; girdle narrow, not protruding. |
2n | = 22. |
= 22, 44 (one count). |
Cylindropuntia versicolor |
Cylindropuntia davisii |
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Phenology | Flowering spring (Apr–Jun). | Flowering late spring (May–Jun). |
Habitat | Sonoran Desert, desert scrub, flats, washes, rocky hillsides, canyons | Grasslands, oak-juniper-mesquite woodlands, plains or slopes, sandy to loamy soils |
Elevation | 600-1300 m (2000-4300 ft) | 600-1500 m (2000-4900 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; Mexico (Sonora)
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NM; OK; TX |
Discussion | 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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Source | FNA vol. 4, p. 109. | FNA vol. 4, p. 111. |
Parent taxa | Cactaceae > subfam. Opuntioideae > Cylindropuntia | Cactaceae > subfam. Opuntioideae > Cylindropuntia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Opuntia versicolor, Opuntia arborescens var. versicolor, Opuntia thurberi subsp. versicolor | Opuntia davisii, Opuntia tunicata var. davisii |
Name authority | (Engelmann ex J. M. Coulter) F. M. Knuth: in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktus-ABC, 125. (1935) | (Engelmann & J. M. Bigelow) F. M. Knuth: in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktus-ABC, 124. (1935) |
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