Opuntia aciculata
Opuntia aciculata Front illustration
Opuntia aciculata is a flowering plant in the genus Opuntia ( Opuntia ) from the cactus family ( Cactaceae ). The specific epithet aciculata means (Latin aciculatus ) spitzgestachelt '.
Description
Opuntia aciculata low growing shrubby with low lying branches and reaches stature heights of up to 1 meter or more in diameter, and often up to 3 meters and more. The bright dark green, obovate drive sections are rounded at the tip. They are 12 to 20 centimeters long. The Journal thereon rudiments are subulate. The round areoles are far apart. Her numerous glochids are dark red and 3 to 12 millimeters long. The one to three, often missing or only at the areoles at the edges of the driving segments existing spines are needle-like, thin, and sometimes bent back slightly. They are yellowish with a darker base long and 3 to 5.5 centimeters
The yellow flowers reach diameter of 8 to 10 inches. The ellipsoidal or broadly pear-shaped fruits are dark purple red.
Systematics and distribution
Opuntia aciculata is distributed in the United States in the state of Texas and in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon.
The first description was in 1916 by David Griffiths. Nomenclatural synonyms are Opuntia engelmannii var aciculata ( Griffiths ) Bravo (1970, nom. Inval. ICBN article 33.3), Opuntia lindheimeri var aciculata ( Griffiths ) Bravo (1974) and Opuntia engelmannii subsp. aciculata ( Griffiths ) U.Guzmán & Mandujano ( 2003).