Opuntia gosseliniana

Opuntia gosseliniana
Opuntia gosseliniana var. duraznilla
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Core eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Opuntia
Species: O. gosseliniana
Binomial name
Opuntia gosseliniana
F.A.C.Weber

Opuntia gosseliniana, commonly known as the violet pricklypear, is a species of cactus that is native to Pima County, Arizona in the United States and Baja California, Chihuahua, and Sonora in Mexico.

Like most prickly pears, the pads are flat. Unlike most prickly pears, they have a violet, pink, or red tinge, hence the name. The cactus reaches mature heights of one to five feet and blooms either yellow or red.

Taxonomy

Different authorities disagree on the division of plants into Opuntia chlorotica, Opuntia violacea, Opuntia gosseliniana, Opuntia macrocentra,[1][2] and perhaps others. To complicate the issue, there are numerous natural hybrids between species.

Synonyms

Varieties

Distribution

Santa Rita Prickly Pear

The above-mentioned taxonomic issues complicate any attempt to describe the distribution of particular varieties or species. O. gosseliniana is especially known from Mexico,[4] but has been reported from Arizona.[5]

References

  1. "Opuntia macrocentra". Flora of North America. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  2. Ferguson, David (1988). "Opuntia macrocentra Eng. and Opuntia chlorotica Eng. and Big." (PDF). Cactus and Succulent Journal. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  3. "Santa Rita Prickly Pear (Opuntia santa-rita)". Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  4. "Opuntia santa-rita". Flora of North America. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  5. Thomas R. Van Devender and Ana Lilia Reina. "The Forgotten Flora of la Frontera" (PDF).
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.