Xerophyte

Leaves

The segmented branches have light-green leaves 1.5-2.5 cm long when they are young.

Seeds

Yellow to brownish, angular to very irregular in outline, warped, small only 2-3 mm long. Seeds are not normally found in the fruit.

Description

CylindrSN'>11023' alt='11024'>Opuntia fulgida#SN#11024'>Cylindr[[Opuntia fulgidaSN' style='border

Flowers

White and pink, streaked with lavender about 2.5 cm in diameter. They are displayed at the joint tips (or old fruit tips), blooming in mid-summer. Inner perianth segments usually reflexed, pink to magenta, obovate to tongue shaped, 12-16 mm long, apiculate emarginate. Filaments pale pink to magenta. Anthers white to cream, Style pinkish; stigma lobes whitish to pale yellow.

Chromosome Number

2n = 22 or 33.

Spines

Young branches are covered with 6 to 12(-18) spines from each areole, at most areoles to nearly absent. The in the lower part or areole are erect to deflexed, spreading, flattened basally, the longest to 3.5 cm. the ones on the upper part of areole are erect or spreading, terete to subterete, the longest to 2.5 cm. These spines have a straw-coloured or silvery-yellow baggy sheath, sometimes also pale pinkish, when young which turns a dark grey or brown colour with age. These spines, interlaced or not with spines of adjacent areoles, form a dense layer hiding the whole plant with their lustrous sheaths. The sheath acts to reflect sunlight and prevent over heating. Older branches have sparse and shorter spines. The spine showing microscopic barbs which make removal extremely painful.Glochids in adaxial tuft, sometimes also scattered along areole margins, yellow, 1-3 mm long.

Stem

This species usually forms a single upright, central low-branching trunk; crown many branched, spreading. Stem segments (joints) many whorled or subwhorled, pale green gray-green, often drying blackish, cylindrical, segmented, irregular, 7-20 cm long. These are covered with a more or less layer of sharp spines. The terminal stems are easily dislodged spiny throughout 6-16(-23) cm long 2-3.5 cm in diameter and are strongly tuberculate, with tubercles rather elongated (broadly oval), (6-)8-13(-19) mm long. As the spines fall off of older parts, the brown-black bark is revealed. It becomes rough and scaly with age.

Fruits

Fleshy, green, at maturity grey-green, usually spineless, pear-shaped, barrel-shaped to nearly round, fleshy, shallowly tuberculate,2.5-4 cm long, wrinkled with a few spines and usually sterile. The fruits stay on the plant and the areoles on the fruits keep producing more flowers the following year, in turn producing more fruits and the chains grow longer with every year, sometimes as long as 60 cm. The end result is characteristic pendent chains of fruit which give it the name "hanging chain cholla". Basal fruits 32-55 long 23-45 mm thick; terminal fruits 2-3.3 cm long 1.3-2.3 cm thisk; tubercles becoming obscure. Umbilicus to 8 mm deep.

Areoles

Inversely triangular, 5-7 (-10) mm long, 2.5-4 mm wide; wool gold to tan, ageing grey to black.