Opuntia chaffeyi
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Opuntia chaffeyi |
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| Britton & Rose |
Opuntia chaffeyi is a species of plant in the genus Opuntia ( Opuntia ) from the cactus family(Cactaceae). The epithet of the species honors Elswood Chaffey (1850–1920), who discovered the species. The endangered species of opuntia loses its shoots during the dry seasonand survives with the help of a rhizome . A Spanish common name is "Sacasil".
description
The very small Opuntia chaffeyi grows branched and prostrate. Their shoots arise from a rhizome that is up to 35 centimeters long and up to 4 centimeters in diameter. The annually newly formed, soft, somewhat flattened shoot sections are pale blue-green or reddish. They are only about 7 millimeters thick and up to 5 centimeters long. Their leaves are tiny. The small round areoles are initially white, later brown, covered with wool and have numerous yellow glochids . The needle-like thorn (rarely one to three are present) is white to pale yellow.
The petals are lemon yellow and slightly reddish on the outside. Nothing is known about the fruits and seeds .
Distribution, systematics and endangerment
Opuntia chaffeyi is only found in a very small area of the Mexican state of Zacatecas . Only three different locations are known. The first description was published in 1913 by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose .
Opuntia Chaffeyi is in the endangered Red List species the IUCN as " Critically Endangered (CR) ", d. H. classified as critically endangered. The number of fully grown plants at the locations is very low. The distribution area is threatened by grazing with cattle and the expansion of agricultural areas. The development of the population is seen as decreasing.
proof
literature
- Opuntia chaffeyi . In: Edward F. Anderson : The Cactus Family . Timber Press: Portland (Oregon), 2001, p. 491. ISBN 0-88192-498-9 .
- Opuntia chaffeyi Britton and Rose In: NL Britton , JN Rose : The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family . Washington, 1919, Volume I, pp. 213 f.
- Opuntia chaffeyi Br. & R. In: Curt Backeberg : Die Cactaceae: Handbuch der Kakteenkunde . 2nd edition, 1982, Vol. I, p. 449. ISBN 3-437-30380-5
Individual evidence
- ^ Contributions from the United States National Herbarium . Volume 16, 1913, p. 241, (online) .
- ↑ Opuntia chaffeyi in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.3. Posted by: Hernández, HM, Gómez-Hinostrosa, C. & Goettsch, BK, 2013. Accessed January 3, 2015.
