Opuntia gosseliniana

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Violet Prickly Pear Cactus
Opuntia gosseliniana var. duraznilla
Opuntia gosseliniana var. duraznilla
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Opuntia
Species: O. gosseliniana
Binomial name
Opuntia gosseliniana
F.A.C. Weber

The Violet Prickly Pear (Opuntia gosseliniana F. A. C. Weber) is native to Pima County, Arizona, and Baja California, Chihuahua, and Sonora in Mexico.

Like most prickly pears, the pads are flat. Unlike most prickly pears, they have a violet, pink, or red tinge, hence the name. The cactus reaches mature heights of one to five feet and blooms either yellow or red.

Contents

[edit] Taxonomy

Different authorities disagree on the division of plants into Opuntia chlorotica, Opuntia violacea, Opuntia gosseliniana, Opuntia macrocentra,[1] and perhaps others. To complicate the picture, there are numerous natural hybrids between species.

[edit] Synonyms

  • Opuntia chlorotica Engelm. & Bigelow var. gosseliniana (A. Weber) Ferguson
  • Opuntia violacea Engelm. var. gosseliniana (A. Weber) L. Benson

[edit] Varieties

  • O. gosseliniana var. duraznilla
  • O. gosseliniana var. santa-rita (also known as Opuntia santa-rita[2])

[edit] Distribution

Santa Rita Prickly Pear
Santa Rita Prickly Pear

The above-mentioned taxonomic issues complicate any attempt to describe the distribution of particular varieties or species. O. gosseliniana is especially known from Mexico,[3] but has been reported from Arizona.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Opuntia macrocentra. Flora of North America. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  2. ^ Santa Rita Prickly Pear (Opuntia santa-rita). Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  3. ^ Opuntia santa-rita. Flora of North America. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  4. ^ Thomas R. Van Devender and Ana Lilia Reina. The Forgotten Flora of la Frontera (PDF).

[edit] External links

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