Opuntia diploursina
| Opuntia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Opuntia diploursina | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Subfamily: | Opuntioideae |
| Tribe: | Opuntieae |
| Genus: | Opuntia |
| Species: | O. diploursina |
| Binomial name | |
| Opuntia diploursina Stock, Hussey, & Beckstrom | |
Opuntia diploursina is a species in the Cactaceae family, that grows near the Grand Canyon and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. This species is a close relative of Opuntia erinacea but "...differs in minor spines more closely appressed to pad surface, spines smaller in diameter and more flexible, inter-areolar distance less, upright growth habit, larger fruit with longer, more flexible spines, larger seeds, and diploid chromosome number (2n=22)".[1]
Opuntia diploursina (2n=22) is known to hybridize with O. basilaris (2n=22) wherever the species co-occur. This results in fertile progeny that can backcross with either parent eventually creating a hybrid swarm. The polyploid O. erinacea (2n=44) which is widely distributed in the Mojave and Great Basin deserts, is suspected to be a stabilized allopolyploid derived from O. diploursina and O. basilaris. Some O. diploursina x basilaris progeny resemble O. basilaris var. treleasei (2n=33), an endemic species of California.[2]
External links
References
- ↑ Stock, A. D., Hussey, N., & Beckstrom, M. D. (2014). A New Species of Opuntia (Cactaceae) from Mojave Co, Arizona. Cactus and Succulent Journal, 86(2), 79-83.
- ↑ Beckstrom, M., Stock, A. D., Ginkel, C., & Hussey, N. (2014). Diploid Opuntia Hybrids from Northwestern Arizona. Cactus and Succulent Journal, 86(4), 165-171.