Cylindropuntia ×tetracantha

(Toumey) F. M. Knuth in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth

in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktu s-ABC, 124. 1935.

Basionym: Opuntia tetracantha Toumey Gard. & Forest 9: 432. 1896
Synonyms: Opuntia kleiniae var. tetracantha (Toumey) W. T. Marshall
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Treatment on page 106. Mentioned on page 103, 104.

Shrubs, openly branched, 0.5–1.3 m. Stem segments usually alternate, green to gray-green (or reddish), 5–28 × 0.7–1.4 cm; tubercles moderately prominent, narrowly elongate, 1.5–3 cm; areoles subcircular, 1.5–3 mm in diam.; wool tan, aging gray. Spines (0–) 1–4 per areole, in all but proximal areoles of stem segment, usually all deflexed, yellow with whitish to pinkish basal coating, moderately stout to acicular, the longest 1.5–2.8 cm; sheaths whitish at bases to golden at tips. Glochids in adaxial tuft and marginal about areole, yellow, 1–3 mm. Flowers: inner tepals greenish bronze or red to magenta, spatulate to obovate-apiculate, 10–15 mm; filaments reddish; anthers light yellow; color of style and stigma lobes unknown. Fruits commonly sterile, often proliferating, green, becoming yellow with red blush to red, obconic to obovate-stipitate, 15–23 × 10–20 mm, fleshy, moderately tuberculate; umbilicus deep, 3–4.5 mm; areoles 10–18, a few producing 1 (–2) short spines. Seeds tan, angularly subcircular to broadly oval, warped, 3–4 × 3–3.5 mm; girdle broad, lumpy, little protruding. 2n = 22.


Phenology: Flowering spring (Apr–May).
Habitat: Sonoran desert scrub, flats, hills
Elevation: 500-1000 m

Discussion

Cylindropuntia ×tetracantha (= C. acanthocarpa × C. leptocaulis) is an uncommon hybrid; sympatric hybrids long confused with and usually included in C. ×tetracantha involve C. leptocaulis × C. spinosior, which have spineless, reddish, and strongly tuberculate fruits and long-spreading, subwhorled branches, and C. leptocaulis × C. versicolor, which have spineless, reddish, smooth, and enlarged fruits and a less spreading habit.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
light yellow +
cushionlike +
gray +  and tan +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
few +, 10 +  and 18 +
subcircular +
Donald J. Pinkava +
(Toumey) F. M. Knuth in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth +
Opuntia tetracantha +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
500-1000 m +
salverform +, cup-shaped +  and rotate +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
obovate-stipitate +
yellow with red blush;red +
indehiscent +
persistent +, long +  and deciduous +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2.3 cm23 mm <br />0.023 m <br />) +
proliferating +
tuberculate +
obconic +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
with low marginal ridge +  and smooth +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
Sonoran desert scrub, flats, hills +
spatulate +  and obovate-apiculate +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
deciduous +
flattened +  and conic +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
succulent +
tuberculate +
fluted;spheric;depressed-spheric or club-shaped +
tinged color +
sometimes covered by outgrowths of proximal portion of style base or of flower tube wall +  and open +
persistent +  and deciduous +
Flowering spring (Apr–May). +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktu s-ABC, +
3;2;2;30 +
tuberlike +
0.4mm;12mm +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
warped;angularly subcircular;broadly oval +
0.19 cm1.9 mm <br />0.0019 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
conspicuous +
1 (?) +  and 4 (?) +
acicular +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2.8 cm28 mm <br />0.028 m <br />) +
hard +  and rigid +
decurrent +
winged +  and unsegmented +
tuberculate +  and smooth +
40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br /> (50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br />) +
green +  and gray-green +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (28 cm280 mm <br />0.28 m <br />) +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br />) +
segmented +
woody +  and succulent +
Opuntia kleiniae var. tetracantha +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Cylindropuntia ×tetracantha +
Cylindropuntia +
species +
dull +  and glossy +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br />) +
terrestrial;epiphytic or epipetric +
gray +  and tan +