| Opuntia tortispina | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Genus: | Opuntia |
| Species: | O. tortispina |
| Binomial name | |
| Opuntia tortispina | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
List
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Opuntia tortispina is a species of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae, native to the central United States (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming). [1] It was first described in 1856.
Opuntia tortispina is of moderate height, growing to 40 centimeters. Its stems are not easily detached from each other at the joints. The surface of the stems are hairless, except next to the spines, starting out glossy and pale to deep green in color, but becoming more gray with age. The pads are flattened and broad, ranging from egg shaped to teardrop shaped and 6.5–15 centimeters long by 4–10 across. When stressed the surface of the pads will be wrinkled. [2]
The attachment points for the spines and hairs, called areoles in botanical texts, are wart like bumps 2.5–5 by 1.5–4 millimeters across. Their outlines may be almost circular, oval, or teardrop shaped. The areoles are arranged in rows with six to nine across the middle of the pad. They are covered in woolly hairs that are tan when new and age to dark brown in color. Each areole will have 1–9 spines on the outer half of the pad and may either have spines or lack them towards the base. The spines are generally chalky white to gray in color for most of the length with pale brown or yellow tips and bases. [3] [2] However, they are occasionally completely brown. The length of a central spine is 25–70 millimeters while those towards the sides are 5–15 millimeters and more slender. [2]
The flowers are large, 4–6 centimeters across, and brightly colored golden or yellow with a red center. [3]
The first scientific description was published by George Engelmann and John Milton Bigelow in 1856. However, they also identified some specimens as a separate species under the name Opuntia cymochila, which is synonymized with Opuntia tortispina by many botanical authorities. [1] [4] Since that time it has been described once more as a species (Opuntia sanguinocula) and four more times as a subspecies of Opuntia mackensenii , Opuntia macrocentra , Opuntia mesacantha, or Opuntia rafinesquei. However, as of 2024 Opuntia tortispina is generally accepted as the correct classification. [1] [5] [2]
In 2024 Plants of the World Online (POWO) and the Flora of North America do not recognize any valid subspecies for Opuntia tortispina. [1] [2] However, World Flora Online continues to recognize Opuntia cymochila as a separate valid species. [6]
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word cactus derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek word κάκτος (káktos), a name originally used by Theophrastus for a spiny plant whose identity is now not certain. Cacti occur in a wide range of shapes and sizes. They are native to the Americas, ranging from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north, with the exception of Rhipsalis baccifera, which is also found in Africa and Sri Lanka. Cacti are adapted to live in very dry environments, including the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth. Because of this, cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. For example, almost all cacti are succulents, meaning they have thickened, fleshy parts adapted to store water. Unlike many other succulents, the stem is the only part of most cacti where this vital process takes place. Most species of cacti have lost true leaves, retaining only spines, which are highly modified leaves. As well as defending against herbivores, spines help prevent water loss by reducing air flow close to the cactus and providing some shade. In the absence of true leaves, cacti's enlarged stems carry out photosynthesis.
Echinocereus is a genus of ribbed, usually small to medium-sized, cylindrical shaped cacti, comprising about 70 species native to the southern United States and Mexico in very sunny, rocky places. Usually the flowers are large and the fruit edible.
Cylindropuntia is a genus of cacti, containing species commonly known as chollas, native to northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. They are known for their barbed spines that tenaciously attach to skin, fur, and clothing. Stands of cholla are called cholla gardens. Individuals within these colonies often exhibit the same DNA, as they were formerly tubercles of an original plant.
Brasiliopuntia is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae. It contains only one species, Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis.
Echinocereus engelmannii, the strawberry hedgehog cactus or Engelmann's hedgehog cactus, is a cactus commonly found in desert areas of the southwestern United States and the adjacent areas of Mexico, including the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Baja California and Sonora.
Opuntioideae is a subfamily of the cactus family, Cactaceae. It contains 15 genera divided into five tribes. The subfamily encompasses roughly 220–250 species, and is geographically distributed throughout the New World from Canada, to Argentina. Members of this subfamily have diverse habits, including small geophytes, hemispherical cushions, shrubs, trees, and columnar cacti consisting of indeterminate branches or determinate terete or spherical segments.
Ariocarpus agavoides is a species of cactus. It is endemic to Mexico. It grows in dry shrubland in rocky calcareous substrates. Some taxonomists place it in a separate genus as Neogomezia agavoides. The locals use the slime from the roots of the plants as glue to repair pottery. The sweet-tasting warts are eaten and often added to salads
Lophocereus marginatus is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is sometimes called Mexican fencepost cactus.
Opuntia, commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Prickly pear alone is more commonly used to refer exclusively to the fruit, but may also be used for the plant itself; in addition, other names given to the plant and its specific parts include tuna (fruit), sabra, sabbar, nopal from the Nahuatl word nōpalli, nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word nōchtli, and paddle cactus. The genus is named for the Ancient Greek city of Opus, where, according to Theophrastus, an edible plant grew and could be propagated by rooting its leaves. The most common culinary species is the Indian fig opuntia (O. ficus-indica).
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa is a species of cactus known by the common names silver cholla, golden cholla, and Wiggins' cholla. It was formerly named Opuntia echinocarpa.
Pediocactus sileri is a rare species of cactus known by the common names Siler's pincushion cactus and gypsum cactus. It is native to southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona in the United States. It is limited to a specific type of soil, individuals are often spaced far apart, and the species is threatened by a number of human activities such as off-road vehicle use, poaching, and uranium mining. This is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.
Epithelantha bokei is a species of cactus known by the common names pingpong ball cactus and button-cactus. It is native to Texas in the United States and Coahuila in Mexico.
Opuntia macrocentra, the long-spined purplish prickly pear or purple pricklypear, is a cactus found in the lower Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. A member of the prickly pear genus, this species of Opuntia is most notable as one of a few cacti that produce a purple pigmentation in the stem. Other common names for this plant include black-spined pricklypear, long-spine prickly pear, purple pricklypear, and redeye prickly pear.
Pelecyphora macromeris, the nipple beehive cactus, is a species of cactus in the United States and Mexico. In the Chihuhuan Desert, it is common and has a wide range.
Stenocereus gummosus is a flowering plant in the family Cactaceae that is found in Baja California, Mexico at elevations of 9 to 134 meters
Opuntia quitensis is a species of columnar cactus found in Peru and Ecuador.
Soehrensia huascha, is a species of Soehrensia in the Cactaceae family, found in north western Argentina. First published in Cactaceae Syst. Init. 29: 5 in 2013.
Pelecyphora tuberculosa, the corncob cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae, native to the south-central United States, and northern Mexico.
Pelecyphora dasyacantha is a species of flowering plant in the family Cactaceae, native to the Mexico.
Pediocactus simpsonii, known by the common names mountain cactus, snowball cactus, and mountain ball cactus, is a relatively common cactus that has adapted to survive in cold and dry environments in high elevation areas of the western United States. It can be found at higher elevations than any other cactus in North America. While not a landscape dominating plant, it is a relatively common species and the most common member of the genus Pediocactus. Because of its beauty and adaptation to cold environments it is sometimes grown by gardeners in areas that have few other choices due to the limited number of cactuses with cold adaptations. Like many cactuses its populations are sometimes threatened by this desirability due to the theft or removal of plants from the wild by collectors.