Opuntia santa-rita

Opuntia santa-rita
	Opuntia santa-rita
Systematics
Order :	Clove-like (Caryophyllales)
Family :	Cactus family (Cactaceae)
Subfamily :	Opuntioideae
Tribe :	Opuntieae
Genre :	Opuntia ( Opuntia )
Type :	Opuntia santa-rita
Scientific name
	Opuntia santa-rita
	( Griffiths & Hare ) Rose

Opuntia santa-rita is a species of plant in the genus Opuntia ( Opuntia ) from the cactus family(Cactaceae). The specific epithet santa-rita means 'from the location Santa Rita'. English common names are "Blunt-Spined Prickly Pear", "Long-Spined Prickly Pear", "Purple Prickly Pear", "Santa Rita Candle Cactus" and "Santa Rita Prickly Pear".

description

Opuntia santa-rita grows shrubby and forms clusters with a height of up to 2 meters and a width of up to 3 meters. Occasionally short stems are formed. The (almost) round shoot sections are purple-violet. They are 15 to 20 inches long and wide. The small areoles , which are 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters apart , have brown glochids up to 6 millimeters long . The needle-like spine (sometimes two to three are present) is straight or slightly curved, flexible and light reddish-brown to pink. Its length is 4 to 6.2 centimeters.

The yellow flowers reach a diameter of 7.5 to 9 centimeters. The fleshy, red or purple-red fruits are smooth and 2.5 to 4 inches long.

Distribution and systematics

Opuntia santa-rita is common in the United States in southeastern Arizona , southern New Mexico, and western Texas . Their distribution area extends to the north of the Mexican state of Sonora .

The first description as Opuntia chlorotica var. Santa-rita was published in 1906 by David Griffiths and Raleigh Frederick Hare . Joseph Nelson Rose elevated the variety to the rank of a species in 1908.

proof

literature

Opuntia santa-rita . In: Edward F. Anderson : The Cactus Family . Timber Press: Portland (Oregon), 2001, p. 518, ISBN 0-88192-498-9 .
Opuntia santa-rita (Griffiths and Hare) Rose In: NL Britton , JN Rose : The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family . Washington, 1919, Volume I, p. 142.
Opuntia gosseliniana var. Santa-rita (Griff. & Hare) L. Benson In: Curt Backeberg : Die Cactaceae: Handbuch der Kakteenkunde . 2nd edition, 1982, Vol. I, pp. 497 f., ISBN 3-437-30380-5

Individual evidence

^ New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin . Volume 60, 1906, p. 64.
^ Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections . Volume 5, Washington (DC) 1909, p. 195, plate 15.

Web links

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

[1] New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin . Volume 60, 1906, p. 64.

[2] Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections . Volume 5, Washington (DC) 1909, p. 195, plate 15.