Opuntia aurantiaca

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Common Names

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Description

Family Cactaceae

Fleshy perennials , shrubs , trees or vines , terrestrial or epiphytic. Stems jointed , terete , globose , flattened, or fluted , mostly leafless and variously spiny . Leaves alternate, flat or subulate to terete, vestigial, or entirely absent; spines, glochids (easily detached, small, bristlelike spines), and flowers always arising from cushionlike, axillary areoles (modified short shoots ) . Flowers solitary, sessile, rarely clustered and stalked (in Pereskia), bisexual , rarely unisexual , actinomorphic or occasionally zygomorphic. Receptacle tube (hypanthium or perianth tube) absent or short to elongate , naked or invested with leaflike bracts, scales , areoles, and hairs , bristles , or spines; perianth segments usually numerous , in a sepaloid to petaloid series. Stamens numerous, variously inserted in throat and tube; anthers 2-loculed, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary (pericarpel) inferior, rarely superior, 1-loculed, with 3 to many parietal (rarely basal) placentas; ovules usually numerous; style 1; stigmas 2 to numerous, papillate , rarely 2-fid. Fruit juicy or dry, naked, scaly , hairy , bristly , or spiny, indehiscent or dehiscent , when juicy then pulp derived from often deliquescent funicles (except in Pereskia) . Seeds usually numerous, often arillate or strophiolate ; embryo curved or rarely straight; endosperm present or absent; cotyledons reduced or vestigial, rarely leaflike.

About 110 genera and more than 1000 species: temperate and tropical America; Rhipsalis baccifera (J. S. Mueller) Stearn native in tropical Africa, Madagascar, Comoros, Mascarenes, and Sri Lanka; some species of other genera now extensively naturalized in the Old World through human agency; more than 60 genera and 600 species cultivated as ornamentals or hedges in China, of which four genera and seven species more or less naturalized.[1]

Genus Opuntia

Trees or shrubs , erect to trailing , usually many branched, sometimes forming clumps or mats; trunk , when present, initially segmented , appearing continuous with age, main axis determinate, usually terete . Stem segments green or sometimes reddish to purple, usually flattened, circular, elliptic , ovate , lanceolate, or obovate to oblanceolate , 2-60(-120) × 1.2-40 cm, nearly smooth to tuberculate , glabrous or pubescent ; areoles usually elliptic, circular, or obovate, 3-8(-10) × 1-7(-10) mm; wool white, gray, or tan to brown, aging white or gray to black. Spines 0-15+ per areole, white, yellow to brown, red-brown to gray, or black, sometimes partly to wholly white chalky (chalkiness disappearing when wet), aging gray to dark brown to black, with epidermis intact, not sheathed, acicular to subulate , sometimes setose or with hairlike bristles , terete to angular-flattened, to 75(-170) mm, tips sometimes paler or yellow. Glochids in adaxial crescent at margin of areole, in tuft or encircling areole margin, white to yellow to brown, or red-brown, aging white to brown or red-brown. Flowers bisexual or sometimes functionally staminate , radially symmetric ; outer tepals green to yellow with margins tinged color of inner tepals; inner tepals pale yellow to orange, pink to red or magenta, rarely white (unicolored) or with base of a different color (bicolored ), oblong to spatulate , emarginate-apiculate; nectar chamber simple , open, not covered by proximal thickening style. Pollen yellow, grains reticulate or foveolate (opuntioid type). Fruits sometimes proliferating (sprouting from another fruit), if fleshy , green, yellow, or red to purple or, if dry, tan to gray, straight, sometimes stipitate , clavate to cylindric , ovoid , or obovoid to subspheric, 10-120 × 8-120 mm, fleshy to juicy or dry, smooth or tuberculate, spineless or spiny , sometimes burlike. Seeds pale yellow to tan or gray, generally circular to reniform , flattened (discoid ) to subspheric, angular to squarish, sometimes warped, 2-7 × 2-7 mm, glabrous, commonly bearing 1-4 large, shallow depressions due to pressures from adjacent developing seeds; girdle protruding 0.3-3.5 mm, forming ridge or flat wing, or not protruding. x = 11.

Species ca. 150 species: widespread in North America, Mexico, West Indies, South America, including the Galápagos Islands; some species introduced to and naturalized in the Old World.

Many taxa are cultivated for ornamental plants , food, and animal fodder . Some species of Opuntia become obnoxious weeds ; some species have been planted in Africa for stabilization of sand dunes.

Many interspecific hybrids are known and have been named; only five are fully treated here; two other named hybrids recognized by the author are briefly described and cross-referenced under putative parent taxa.[2]

Physical Description

Biology

Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 15-18" apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000.

Place of publication : Edwards's Bot. Reg. 19: t. 1606. 1833

Name verified on 27-Aug-2002 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 10-May-2007

Similar Species

Members of the genus Opuntia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1155 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

O. abjecta · O. abyssi · O. acanthocarpa (Stag-Horn Cholla) · O. acanthocarpa Engelm. & Bigelow var. acanthocarpa Engelm. & Bigelow (Buckhorn Cholla) · O. acanthocarpa Engelm. & Bigelow var. coloradensis L.Benson (Colorado Buckhorn Cholla) · O. acanthocarpa ganderi · O. acanthocarpa Engelm. & Bigelow var. major (Engelm. & Bigelow) L.Benson (Slender Joint Buckhorn Cholla) · O. acanthocarpa Engelm. & Bigelow var. thornberi (Thornb. & Bonker) L.Benson (Thornber's Buckhorn Cholla) · O. acanthocarpa var. acanthocarpa (Buckhorn Cholla) · O. acanthocarpa var. coloradensis (Colorado Buckhorn Cholla) · O. acanthocarpa var. major (Slender Joint Buckhorn Cholla) · O. acanthocarpa var. thornberi (Thornber's Buckhorn Cholla) · O. acaulis (Opuntia) · O. acicularis (Old Man Whiskers) · O. aciculata (Chenille Prickly Pear) · O. acracantha · O. aequatorialis · O. affinis · O. aggeria (Big Bend Pricklypear) · O. agglomerata · O. airampo · O. alamosensis · O. albicans · O. albicarpa · O. albiflora · O. albisaetacens · O. albisetosa · O. alburdina · O. alcahes · O. alcerrecensis · O. alexanderi · O. alexanderi Britton & Rose var. bruchii (Speg.) Backeb. · O. alfagayucca · O. alko-tuna (Opuntia) · O. allairei · O. alpicola · O. alta · O. amarilla · O. ambigua · O. ammophila · O. amyclaea (Opuntia) · O. anacantha (Opuntia) · O. anacantha var. anacantha · O. anacantha var. kiska-loro (Opuntia) · O. anacantha var. retrorsa (Opuntia) · O. anacantha var. utikilio (Opuntia) · O. anahuacensis · O. andicola · O. angusta · O. angustata · O. anteojoensis · O. antillana · O. aoracantha · O. apurimacensis (Opuntia) · O. aquosa · O. arborea · O. arborescens · O. arbuscula (Arizona Pencil Cholla) · O. arbuscular · O. arcei (Opuntia) · O. archiconoidea · O. arechavaletae · O. arechavaletai · O. arechevaletai · O. arenaria (El Paso Pricklypear) · O. argentina · O. arizonica · O. arkansana · O. armata (Opuntia) · O. armata var. panellana · O. arrastradillo · O. articulata · O. articulata (Pfeiff.) D.R.Hunt var. inermis Speg. · O. articulata (Pfeiff.) D.R.Hunt var. papyracantha Phil. · O. asplundii · O. assumptionis (Opuntia) · O. atacamensis · O. atrispina (Devils River Prickly Pear) · O. atrocapensis · O. atroglobosa · O. atropes (Opuntia) · O. atrovirens (Opuntia) · O. atroviridis · O. auberi (Nopal De Lenguita) · O. aulacothele · O. aurantiaca (Jointed Prickly-Pear (Usa)) · O. aurea (Creeping Beavertail) · O. aureispina (Golden-Spined Prickly Pear) · O. australis · O. austrina · O. ayrampo · O. azurea (Nopal Coyotillo) · O. azurea var. aureispina · O. backebergii · O. bahamana · O. bahiensis · O. bakeri · O. balearica · O. ballii · O. barbata

More Info

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Further Reading

• An introduction to the embryology of angiosperms. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1950. ENG url p. 337, p. 338, p. 362, p. 372, p. 56, p. 78.
• Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires: Impr. de Juan A. Alsina, 1895-1911. SPA url p. 514.
• Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family. (Cact Fam) [lists as O. aurantiaca Gillies ex Lindl.].
• Anglo-russkii biologicheskii slovar' / [avtory, I. N. Afanas'eva et al.; spetsial'nye nauch. redaktory, O. I. Chibisova i L. A. Koziar]. Moskva: Russkii iazyk, 1979. ENG url p. 465.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. ENG url p. 150.
• Cabrera, A. L., ed. 1965–1970. Flora de la provincia de Buenos Aires. (F BuenAir)
• Carnegie Institution of Washington publication. Washington, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1902- ENG url p. 107.
• Edwards' botanical register, or, Ornamental flower-garden and shrubbery London: James Ridgway, 1829-1847. ENG url p. 2021.
• Embryogenesis in plants. London, Methuen;[1955] ENG url p. 375.
• Flora uruguaya; enumeración y descripción breve de las plantas conocidas hasta hoy y de algunas nuevas que nacen espontaneamente y viven en la República Uruguaya. Montevideo, 1901- SPA url p. 172, p. 250, p. 280, p. 283, p. 286.
• George, A. S., ed. 1980–. Flora of Australia, new ed. (F Aust)
• Henderson, L. 2001. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12. (Weeds SAfr 2001)
• Henderson, M. et al. 1987. Declared weeds and alien invader plants in South Africa. Botanical Research Institute, bulletin 413. (Weeds SAfr)
• Hosking, J. R. et al. 1988. Pl. Protect. Quart. 3:117.
• Hunt, D. 1992. CITES Cactaceae checklist. (CITES Cact L)
• Just's botanischer jahresbericht. Systematisch geordnetes repertorium der botanischen literatur aller länder. Berlin, Gebr. Borntraeger, 1874-98; GER url p. 1177, p. 83.
• Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia. (Noxweed Aust)
• Pflanzenbiologische Schilderungen. Marburg, N.G. Elwert, 1889-93. GER url p. 71.
• The agricultural gazette of New South Wales. Sydney, C. Potter, Govt. Printer [etc.]. ENG url p. 891.
• Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds. (Invasive Pl Spec)
• .Li Zhenyu. 1999. Cactaceae. In: Ku Tsuechih, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 52(1): 272-285.
• Grant, V. and K. A. Grant. 1979. Systematics of the Opuntia phaeacantha group in Texas. Bot. Gaz. 140: 199-207.
• Parfitt, B. D. and M. A. Baker. 1993. Opuntia. In: J. C. Hickman, ed. 1993. The Jepson Manual. Higher Plants of California. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London. Pp. 452-457.
• Philbrick, R. N. 1963. Biosystematic studies of two Pacific coast opuntias. Ph.D. thesis. Cornell University.
• Pinkava, D. J. 2003. Cactaceae cactus family: Part 6. J. Arizona-Nevada Acad. Sci. 35: 137-150.

Notes

Contributors

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Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 02, 2008:

• Australian National Herbarium
• , Australian National Herbarium

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2676745
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-566004
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13736101
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:50664-3
• GRIN Nomen Number: 316387
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 566004
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: OPAU10
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 52558

Footnotes

1. Zhen-yu Li & Nigel P. Taylor "Cactaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 209. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. Donald J. Pinkava "Opuntia". in Flora of North America Vol. 4 Page 93, 94, 95, 102, 123, 232, 381. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

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