Opuntia megarhiza

Opuntia megarhiza
Systematics
Order :	Clove-like (Caryophyllales)
Family :	Cactus family (Cactaceae)
Subfamily :	Opuntioideae
Tribe :	Opuntieae
Genre :	Opuntia ( Opuntia )
Type :	Opuntia megarhiza
Scientific name
	Opuntia megarhiza
	rose

Opuntia megarhiza is a species of plant in the genus Opuntia ( Opuntia ) from the cactus family(Cactaceae). The specific epithet megarhiza is derived from the Greek words mega for 'large' and rhiza for 'root' and refers to the large taproots of the species. A common Spanish name is "Nopalillo".

description

Opuntia megarrhiza has low shrubbery, is richly branched and reaches heights of up to 60 centimeters. Every one to two years some rather upright above-ground shoots are formed. There is a massive rhizome up to 50 centimeters long and 6 centimeters thick . The dark green, conspicuously tuberous, obovate to elongated shoot sections are 7 to 12 centimeters long, 3 to 4 centimeters wide and 0.6 to 1 centimeter thick. The areoles stand 0.8 to 1.2 centimeters apart and wear yellow, soft, short glochids . The two to six thorns emerging from them are needle-like, very slender and brittle, whitish to gray with a darker tip. They reach a length of 0.8 to 3 centimeters.

The lemon-yellow, pink-tinged flowers have a diameter of up to 5 centimeters. The dark green club-shaped and humped fruits reach a diameter of 3 to 4 centimeters.

Distribution, systematics and endangerment

Opuntia megarhiza is common in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí .

The first description was in 1906 by Joseph Nelson Rose .

Opuntia Megarrhiza is in the endangered Red List species the IUCN as " Endangered (EN) ," d. H. classified as threatened. The development of the population is seen as decreasing.

proof

literature

Edward F. Anderson : The Great Cactus Lexicon . Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8001-4573-1 , p. 466-467 .
Opuntia megarhiza Rose In: NL Britton , JN Rose : The Cactaceae . Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family . Washington, 1919, Volume I, p. 137.
Opuntia megarhiza Br. & R. In: Curt Backeberg : Die Cactaceae: Handbuch der Kakteenkunde . 2nd edition, 1982, Vol. I, p. 493. ISBN 3-437-30380-5

Individual evidence

↑ Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names . Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-642-05597-3 , p. 150.
^ JN Rose: Studies of Mexican and Central American Plants - No. 5. In: Contributions from the United States National Herbarium . Volume 10, Part 3, 1906, p. 126 (online) .
↑ Opuntia megarrhiza in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2007. Posted by: Hernández, HM, Gómez-Hinostrosa, C. & Goettsch, B., 2002. Retrieved on 19 September, 2008.

[1] Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names . Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-642-05597-3 , p. 150.

[2] JN Rose: Studies of Mexican and Central American Plants - No. 5. In: Contributions from the United States National Herbarium . Volume 10, Part 3, 1906, p. 126 (online) .

[3] Opuntia megarrhiza in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2007. Posted by: Hernández, HM, Gómez-Hinostrosa, C. & Goettsch, B., 2002. Retrieved on 19 September, 2008.