Opuntia aureispina

Opuntia aureispina
Systematics
Order :	Clove-like (Caryophyllales)
Family :	Cactus family (Cactaceae)
Subfamily :	Opuntioideae
Tribe :	Opuntieae
Genre :	Opuntia ( Opuntia )
Type :	Opuntia aureispina
Scientific name
	Opuntia aureispina
	( S.Brack & KDHeil ) Pinkava & BDParfitt

Opuntia aureispina is a species of plant in the genus Opuntia ( Opuntia ) from the cactus family(Cactaceae). The specific epithet aureispina means '(Latin aureispinus) golden yellow prickly'.

description

Opuntia aureispina grows large, shrubby, with numerous upright twigs near the surface of the soil and reaches heights of up to 1.5 meters. A short, heavily thorned trunk is formed. The light blue-green to yellow-green, glaucous , circular to egg-shaped shoot sections are 8 to 12 inches long and just as wide. The blackish areoles all have thorns . The usually three to four thorns are light brown to bright yellow or occasionally black with a yellow tip. Sometimes they're flattened and twisted. The thorns reach a length of 2 to 6 centimeters.

The yellow, at their base bright orange or red flowers are 6 to 8 centimeters long and reach 6 to 7 centimeters in diameter. The green to slightly red fruits are covered with stiff thorns. They reach a diameter of 2 to 2.5 centimeters and a length of 3 to 4 centimeters.

Distribution, systematics and endangerment

Opuntia aureispina is distributed in the United States in western Texas in Brewster County up to an altitude of 600 meters.

It was first described as Opuntia macrocentra var. Aureispina in 1988 by Steven Brack and Kenneth D. Heil . Donald John Pinkava and Bruce Dale Parfitt elevated the variety to the rank of a species in 2001.

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.

proof

literature

Edward F. Anderson : The Great Cactus Lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 449 .

Individual evidence

^ Cactus and Succulent Journal . Volume 60, Cactus and Succulent Society of America, 1988, p. 17.
^ Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science . Volume 33, Number 2, 2001, p. 150.
^ Opuntia aureispina in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Posted by: Heil, K. & Terry, M., 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2015.

[1] Cactus and Succulent Journal . Volume 60, Cactus and Succulent Society of America, 1988, p. 17.

[2] Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science . Volume 33, Number 2, 2001, p. 150.

[3] Opuntia aureispina in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Posted by: Heil, K. & Terry, M., 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2015.