Opuntia aciculata

Opuntia aciculata
	Opuntia aciculata; front illustration
Systematics
Order :	Clove-like (Caryophyllales)
Family :	Cactus family (Cactaceae)
Subfamily :	Opuntioideae
Tribe :	Opuntieae
Genre :	Opuntia ( Opuntia )
Type :	Opuntia aciculata
Scientific name
	Opuntia aciculata
	Griffiths

over 2 meter high plant in the highlands of Mexico

Opuntia aciculata is a species of plant in the genus Opuntia ( Opuntia ) from the cactus family(Cactaceae). The specific epithet aciculata means '(Latin aciculatus) pointed prickles'.

description

Opuntia aciculata grows low shrubby with prostrate branches and reaches stature heights of up to 1 meter and more and diameters of often up to 3 meters and more. The bright dark green, obovate shoot sections are rounded at their tips. They are 12 to 20 centimeters long. The leaf rudiments on it are subpulate. The round areoles are far apart. Their numerous glochids are dark red and 3 to 12 millimeters long. The one to three thorns , often missing or only present on the areoles at the edges of the shoot segments, are needle-like, thin and sometimes slightly bent back. They are yellowish with a darker base and 3 to 5.5 inches long

The yellow flowers reach a diameter of 8 to 10 centimeters. The ellipsoidal or broad pear-shaped fruits are dark reddish purple in color.

Distribution, systematics and endangerment

Opuntia aciculata is common in the United States in the state of Texas and in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo León .

It was first described in 1916 by David Griffiths . Nomenclatory synonyms are Opuntia engelmannii var. Aciculata (Griffiths) Bravo (1970, nom. Inval. ICBN -Article 33.3), Opuntia lindheimeri var. Aciculata (Griffiths) Bravo (1974) and Opuntia engelmannii subsp. aciculata (Griffiths) U. Guzmán & Mandujano (2003).

In the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN , the species is called " Data Deficient (DD) ", i. H. with insufficient data. The development of the populations is considered stable.

proof

literature

Edward F. Anderson : The Great Cactus Lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 447 .

Individual evidence

^ Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington . Volume 29, 1916, pp. 10-11 (online) .
↑ Opuntia aciculata in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Posted by: Heil, K. & Terry, M., 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2015.

Web links

Commons : Opuntia aciculata - collection of images, videos and audio files

[1] Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington . Volume 29, 1916, pp. 10-11 (online) .

[2] Opuntia aciculata in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Posted by: Heil, K. & Terry, M., 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2015.