Opuntia cholla
Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. (Paris) 1895: 320.
Family
Cactaceae
Genus
Species
Opuntia cholla
Author
F.A.C.Weber
Chinese genus
仙人掌属
Chinese name
-
Primary
Accepted
DescriptionEdit description
Trunk
7 to 15 cm in diameter very spiny at first and becoming more spiny each year for some time, but in age spineless and developing a smooth, brownish yellow bark.
Leaves
Present only on young growing stem segments, 1 per areole, succulent, conical and soon deciduous.
Seeds
Numerous, very small, often abortive, with a light tan, bony, aril-like structure covering the actual seed.
Description
Cylindropuntia chollaSN|10978]]SN|10978]] (Chain link cholla) is a spiny shrubby or tree-like cactus, 0.5 to 3 meters high, low and sprawling to erect and with distinct erect trunks. The top of plant often dense and broad with joints in almost horizontal whorls. In its native home Cylindropuntia chollaSN|10978]]SN|10978]] often takes on abnormal shapes, for the joints, which break off easily and many small dwarf plants are found everywhere about the larger plants. In this species, as in a few other opuntias, the fruits are quite proliferous, hanging on for a number of years and usually remaining green.
Cladodes
Pale, blue-green, often glaucous, easily detached, 6-11 cm long, 3-5.5 cm in diameter, with large broadly oval more or less compressed tubercles.
Flowers
Rather small, 3 cm broad, pale pink to deep purple with relatively few tepals. Stamens sensitive, the filaments close inward when touched, covering a visiting bee.
Glochids
The glochids ((small, readily detachable spines with tiny retrorse barbs) are numerous, inconspicuous, 1.5-4 mm long, dark yellow.
Spines
Usually numerous (5-16, on most areoles) sometimes absent, more or less porrect, ,20-45 mm long, orangish brownish with yellow tips covered with reduced to broad, loose-grey papery sheaths. Principal spines 3-7. Secondary spines 3-11. The spination is however quite variable and the plants rather sparsely to densely spiny.
Stem
Nore or less cylindrical with determinate, rhythmic (seasonal or annual), constricted growth increments resulting in individual stem segments or joints (cladodes).
Fruits
Green, highly succulent, globose, spineless, 17-40(-50) mm long, 15-35 mm in diameter, usually proliferous, often in long chains of 2-5(-12) individuals or forming compound clusters. They are, however, easily detached, and on falling to the ground, readily take root and start new colonies.
Areoles
Cream, ageing grey.