Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa
| Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa | ||||||||||||
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Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa var. Coloradensis |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa | ||||||||||||
| ( Engelm. & JMBigelow ) FMKnuth |
Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa is a species of plant from the genus Cylindropuntia in the cactus family(Cactaceae). The specific epithet acanthocarpa means '(Latin acanthocarpus) spiky'. English common names are "Buckhorn Cholla" and "Colorado Desert Cholla".
description
Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa grows shrubby to tree-shaped, is sparsely to richly branched and reaches heights of 1 to 4 meters. On the firmly connected, 10 to 50 centimeters long and 2 to 3 centimeters in diameter shoot sections are clearly recognizable humps. The elliptical to circular white, yellow or tan woolen areoles turn grayish black with age. They carry yellow to brown glochids that stand together in inconspicuous clusters. The six to 20 spines , occasionally up to 30, appear mostly on the areoles near the tip. Occasionally, bristle-like radial spines are also present. Their white to gray sheaths are tipped yellow. The cross-section, round, ascending to spreading, yellow to tan to deep reddish-brown main spines turn gray with age and are 1.2 to 3.8 centimeters long. Basal main spines are often flattened in cross-section, curved downwards to spreading and 1.2 to 3.5 centimeters long.
The bright yellow to bronze to brick red flowers reach lengths of 2 to 3 centimeters. The dry, inverted conical to ellipsoidal fruits turn tan when ripe. You can bear thorns.
Distribution, systematics and endangerment
Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa is distributed in the United States in the states of California , Utah , Arizona and Nevada as well as in the neighboring Mexican state of Sonora at altitudes of 300 to 1,300 meters.
The first description as Opuntia acanthocarpa by George Engelmann and John Milton Bigelow was published in 1856. Frederik Marcus Knuth placed the species in the genus Cylindropuntia in 1936 . A distinction is made between the following varieties :
- Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa var. Acanthocarpa
- Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa var. Coloradensis (LDBenson) Pinkava
- Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa var. Major (Engelm. & JMBigelow) Pinkava
- Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa var. Thornberi (Thornber & Bonker) Backeb.
In the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN , the species is listed as " Least Concern (LC) ". H. listed as not endangered. The development of the populations is considered stable.
use
The flower buds are edible, the shoots are used medicinally.
proof
literature
- Edward F. Anderson : The Great Cactus Lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 166-167 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ George Engelmann: Synopsis of the Cactaceae of the Territory of the United States and Adjacent Regions . In: Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Volume 3, 1856, p. 308 (online) .
- ↑ Cactus ABC . 1936, p. 124.
- ↑ Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.1. Posted by: Pinkava, DJ, Baker, M. & Puente, R., 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
