Opuntia bentonii

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Opuntia bentonii
Opuntia-bentonii.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Opuntia
Species:
O. bentonii
Binomial name
Opuntia bentonii
Griffiths

Opuntia bentonii was proposed by some botanists to be a synonym of Opuntia stricta . However, O. bentonii, which grows in Texas, is separate and distinct from O. stricta.O. bentonii was clearly described by Griffiths in 1911. [1] Along with O. stricta,O. bentonii was one of the pest pears of Australia in the early Twentieth Century. [2]

Contents

The Details

Like so many Opuntia species, O. bentonii has been mistaken for a coastal form of O. lindheimeri in Texas, but there are sustained differences. For instance, O. bentonii plants are often less than 60 cm in height and the fruit is more globular (less inclined to narrow at the base). O. bentonii plants have fewer spines than O. lindheimeri, zero to 3 (often only 1 or 2). One important difference is that the stigmas of O. bentonii flowers are yellow and not green as in O. lindheimeri. Another individual feature of O. bentonii is that the veins are often visible between areoles.

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<i>Opuntia lindheimeri</i> Species of cactus

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<i>Opuntia alta</i> Species of cactus

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<i>Opuntia sulphurea</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia sulpurea falls under the Opuntia, or prickly pear, genus within the family Cacataceae named such because of their round shape, green color, and long thick spines. Opuntia sulphurea is the widest spread of the Opuntia that can be found in and around Argentina, occupying mostly arid areas of the region from the plains in the Western portion of Argentina up to much higher altitudes on the Eastern side of the Andes mountain range. As a result of its ability to survive in such a diverse array of environments there are several subspecies of O. sulphurea that are identifiable based on the number of spine per areole, for example. A commonality across the three is a bright yellow flower, often considered to be the color of sulfur, from which the species name is derived. As with several other species of Opuntia, these prickly pears tend to grow in groups, forming clumps that can reach one to two meters in diameter, but while other species within the genus grow upwards as well O. sulphurea tend to stay low to the ground. As a result of its tendency to grow in dry, arid, and rocky areas this cactus has evolved to be very resilient, not even suffering from the effects of agriculture, i.e. cattle grazing, on lower altitude subpopulations.

References

  1. Griffiths, David (1911). "New Species of Opuntia" (PDF). Annual Report of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 22: 25. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  2. Alexander, William B (1926–1927). "Variation of the Acclimatised Species of Prickly-pear (Opuntia)". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland. 37: 47.