Xerophyte

Seeds

3-4.5 mm.

Description

Grusonia parishiiSN|9896]]SN|9896]] (Corynopuntia parishiiSN|9898]]SN|9898]]), is a low, much branched plant, that grows in spreading mats or clumps along the sandy ground. The stems are short, 10-20 centimeters tall, produce roots along the undersides, and grow outward from the initial point to form broad clusters and mats up to 2 (or more) metres in diameter. The segments are up to 9 cm long by 3 wide and surfaced in fleshy tubercles hidden under a dense armament of angled, strongly flattened spines each up to 5 centimeters in length. Young spines are red or pinkish, but soon becoming grey and finally white, blending remarkably with the short, dry desert grass in natural camouflage. The flower is pale lemon-yellow, fading to salmon and the fruit is yellow and up to 8 centimeters long. A characteristic plant that could not be mistaken for any other species in the region.

Taxonomy

This species has been described as Grusonia parishiiSN|9896]]SN|9896]] by Pinkava (1999). Crook and Mottram (2001) indicated that the species epithet "parishii" was an orthographic error as it was named jointly after S.B. and W.F. Parish, hence the name should to be corrected to parishiorum.

Flowers

Inner perianth 1.5-2.5 cm long, pale yellow with narrow reddish midribs, 1.5-2.2 cm long. Filaments pinkish or green. Style whitish to pale yellow or dull pinkish; stigma lobes white, greenish white or pale yellow.

Blooming Season

Late spring-early summer. The blossoms remain open only about two hours.

Chromosome Number

2n = 22.

Spines

14-22, woody, mostly borne on upper areoles or uniformly distributed over entire segment, grey to brown, with yellowish tips. Largest apical spines about 5, diverging, somewhat round, angular and flattened basally,, to 42 mm long. Central spine brown or white, long tapered. Main basal spines 5-6, whitish to pinkish to tan, strongly bent backward, flattened, 25-45(-58) mm long margin white, thick, sheath separating only at tip.

Stem

10-20 cm in series of usually 1-2 stem segments, from fibrous roots. Segments more or less obovoid, gradually narrowed basally and club shaped, basal to terminal about 5-9 cm, 2-3 cm diameter. Tubercles separate,12-25 mm long, 3-8 mm high wide, 4-6 times longer than wide.

Fruits

club-shaped , with a deep umbilicus at the summit, 3.5- 5.5(-8) cm long, 1.5-2 cm in diameter, fleshy, yellow; usually not spiny or only weakly so but completely covered with dense radially arranged yellow glochids.

Areoles

Round, c.5 mm in diameter, with grey to white wool. Glochids yellow, 5-8 mm long.