Cylindropuntia echinocarpa
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa is a species of the genus Cylindropuntia in the cactus family ( Cactaceae ). The specific epithet echinocarpa means (Latin echinocarpus ) with hedgehog -like fruit, so stachelfrüchtig '. English common names are " Golden Cholla ", " Cholla Ground " and " Silver Cholla ".
Description
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa growing shrubby or tree- shaped, richly branched and reaches heights of growth of 0.5 to 2 meters. On the green to pale gray-green, cylindrical, 3 to 7.5 cm (rarely up to 12 cm) long and 1 to 2.5 inches in diameter measured drive sections are clearly visible hump. Only the outermost drive sections fall off easily. The elliptical white or yellow areoles graying and wear 3 to 4 millimeters long showy, yellow glochids. The six to 22 spines are present on almost all areoles. Particularly strong are the areoles of the power section peaks. The thorns overlap and cover the shoots. They are upright spread to white to brown, sometimes darker and are 2.5 to 5 inches long. Often also bristle-like spines are present. The sheaths of the spines are white at the base and about golden yellow.
The light green to yellowish green flowers have lengths from 2 to 2.3 inches. The tan, inverted conical to spherical fruits are dry and thorns. They are 1.3 to 2.3 inches long, and have diameters from 1.1 to 2 centimeters.
Systematics and distribution
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa is widely used in the United States in the states of California, Nevada and Arizona as well as in the Mexican states of Baja California and Sonora in semi-desert and grassland and woodland.
The first description as Opuntia echinocarpa by George Engelmann and John Milton Bigelow was published in 1856. Frederik Marcus Knuth introduced the type 1930 in the genus Cylindropuntia. A synonym is nomenklatorisches Cactus echinocarpus ( Engelm. & JMBigelow ) Lem. (1868 ).