Austrocylindropuntia floccosa
Austrocylindropuntia floccosa
Austrocylindropuntia floccosa is a flowering plant in the genus Austrocylindropuntia from the cactus family ( Cactaceae ). The specific epithet is derived from the Latin word floccosa floccose and means, with tufts of soft hairs '. It refers to the bristly - haired glochids of Art Orator Fuller Cook described in an article of 1917 the plants because of their appearance as " Polar Bear Cactus" ( Polar Bear Cactus ).
Description
Austrocylindropuntia floccosa grows enough branches and forms broad mats or compact cushions. The short cylindrical, sometimes ellipsoidal to almost spherical drive sections are up to 15 centimeters long. On them are spirally arranged cusps. From the areoles thereon spring bogige, interwoven or just glochidenartige, multi-row hair, which may be absent. The rather long persistent, dark green leaf rudiments are subulate and up to 7 mm long. Spines are only few available. Often there are two. They are spreading, priemlich, yellow and straight. Its length is about 2 inches.
The yellow or orange flowers are 2.5 and 3 inches long. The Perikarpell is open towards the tip with unbedornten areoles. The truncated - spherical, sometimes gehöckerten fruits are only slightly hairy. You can reach about 3 inches in diameter and are hidden between the engines sections.
Systematics and distribution
The distribution area of Austrocylindropuntia floccosa ranges from northern Peru to the Bolivian department of La Paz and Cochabamba, where it is common in the highland areas of the Andes at altitudes 3500-4600 meters.
The first description as Opuntia floccosa by Joseph Salm- Dyck Reifferscheidt was published in 1845. Friedrich Ritter she put 1981 in the genus Austrocylindropuntia. Further nomenclatural synonyms are Tephrocactus floccosus ( Salm- Dyck ) Backeb. (1936) and Maihueniopsis floccosa ( Salm- Dyck ) R.Kiesling (1998).