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staghorn cholla

coast cholla, coastal cholla

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 or small trees, erect, 0.6–2.5 m. Stem segments easily detached, whorled or sub-whorled, green-gray, 4–15 × 3.5–5 cm; tubercles prominent, broadly oval, 1.5–2.5 cm; areoles subcircular to obovate, 4–7 × 3–5 mm; wool tan, aging brown to black.
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.

6–12 per areole, in all but proximalmost areoles, spreading, usually deflexed in abaxial ones, pale red-brown to dark brown, acicular, the longest to 2 cm;

sheaths pale yellow-brown, shiny.

Glochids

in adaxial crescent and few along margin of areole, yellow to brown, 0.5–2.5 mm.

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 rose to magenta, to 20 mm;

filaments yellow-green to distally tinted pink to magenta;

anthers yellow, sometimes bearing stigma-tipped, stylelike appendages;

style greenish yellow to often pink distally;

stigma lobes yellow to white.

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 proliferating into short erect chains of 2–5 fruits, green, broadly ovoid to top-shaped, 21–25(–35) × 20–32 mm, fleshy, smooth to shallowly tuberculate, spineless;

umbilicus broadly shallow, 5–7 mm deep;

areoles (20–)25–35.

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.

rare, globose;

girdle smooth.

2n

= 22.

= 22, usually 33.

Cylindropuntia versicolor

Cylindropuntia prolifera

Phenology Flowering spring (Apr–Jun). Flowering spring (Apr–Jul).
Habitat Sonoran Desert, desert scrub, flats, washes, rocky hillsides, canyons Ocean bluffs, inland coastal sage flats, hills
Elevation 600-1300 m (2000-4300 ft) 0–300 m (0–1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; Mexico (Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Cylindropuntia prolifera is of hybrid origin; it occupies a habitat different from its putative parents, C. alcahes (F. A. C. Weber) F. M. Knuth and C. cholla (F. A. C. Weber) F. M. Knuth, two Mexican species.

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

Source FNA vol. 4, p. 109. FNA vol. 4, p. 108.
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. ganderi, C. imbricata, C. kleiniae, C. leptocaulis, C. munzii, C. prolifera, C. ramosissima, C. spinosior, C. tunicata, 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. ramosissima, C. spinosior, C. tunicata, C. versicolor, C. whipplei, C. wolfii, C. ×kelvinensis, C. ×tetracantha
Synonyms Opuntia versicolor, Opuntia arborescens var. versicolor, Opuntia thurberi subsp. versicolor Opuntia prolifera
Name authority (Engelmann ex J. M. Coulter) F. M. Knuth: in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktus-ABC, 125. (1935) (Engelmann) F. M. Knuth: in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktus-ABC, 126. (1935)
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