Cylindropuntia fulgida

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

in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktus-ABC, 126. 1935.

Common names: Chain-fruit cholla
Illustrated
Basionym: Opuntia fulgida Engelmann Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 3: 306. 1856
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Mentioned on page 92, 101, 102, 105, 1.

Trees 1–3 m; trunk divaricately branching; crown many branched, spreading. Stem segments whorled or subwhorled, gray-green, often drying blackish, ± spiny throughout, terminal ones easily dislodged, 6–16 (–23) × 2–3.5 cm; tubercles salient, broadly oval, 0.8–1.3 (–1.9) cm; areoles obdeltate, 5–7 (–10) × 2.5–4 mm; wool gold to tan, aging gray to black. Spines 0–12 (–18) per areole, at most areoles to nearly absent, yellowish, sometimes also pale pinkish, aging brown, interlaced or not with spines of adjacent areoles; abaxial spines erect to deflexed, spreading, flattened basally, the longest to 3.5 cm; adaxial spines erect or spreading, terete to subterete, longest to 2.5 cm; sheaths uniformly whitish, yellowish to golden, baggy. Glochids in adaxial tuft, sometimes also scattered along areole margins, yellow, 1–3 mm. Flowers: inner tepals usually reflexed, pink to magenta, obovate to ligulate, 12–16 mm, apiculate emarginate; filaments pale-pink to magenta; anthers white to cream; style pinkish; stigma lobes whitish to pale-yellow. Fruits proliferating, forming long, branching, pendent chains, at maturity gray-green, often stipitate, obconic, fleshy, shallowly tuberculate, usually spineless; basal fruits 32–55 × 23–45 mm; terminal fruits 2–3.3 × 1.3–2.3 cm; tubercles becoming obscure; umbilicus to 8 mm deep; areoles 18–35. Seeds pale-yellow to brownish, angular to very irregular in outline, warped, 1.9 × 1.5–3.5 mm, sides with 1–2 large depressions, hilum pointed; girdle smooth.

Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Intermediates are known between the varieties, which are largely sympatric in northern portion of range of the species.

Cylindropuntia fulgida forms hybrids with C. spinosior (see 6. C. ×kelvinensis) and C. leptocaulis. Hybrids, which are rare in south-central Arizona, have stems of intermediate diameter, (0–)1–5 spines per areole, one spine much longer than others, and spineless, yellowing, and often reddish fruits in chains of four to six, or more.

Selected References

None.

Key

1 Spines of stems interlaced with spines of adjacent areoles, the longest usually 2.5-3 cm; sheaths baggy; stem segments appearing spiny from afar, obscuring strongly mammillate tubercles beneath. Cylindropuntia fulgida var. fulgida
1 Spines of stems not or little interlaced with spines of adjacent areoles, the longest usually 1-2 cm; sheaths tightly fitting; stem segments appearing spineless or nearly so from afar, exposing strongly mammillate tubercles beneath Cylindropuntia fulgida var. mamillata
... more about "Cylindropuntia fulgida"
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br />) +
spreading +  and erect +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
white +  and cream +
cushionlike +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
gray +  and tan +
0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
18 +  and 35 +
obdeltate +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
Donald J. Pinkava +
(Engelmann) F. M. Knuth in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth +
3.2 cm32 mm <br />0.032 m <br /> (5.5 cm55 mm <br />0.055 m <br />) +
2.3 cm23 mm <br />0.023 m <br /> (4.5 cm45 mm <br />0.045 m <br />) +
Opuntia fulgida +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
Chain-fruit cholla +
Ariz. +  and nw Mexico +
pale-pink +  and magenta +
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 />) +
spineless +  and stipitate +
indehiscent +
persistent +, long +  and deciduous +
proliferating +
tuberculate +
obconic +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
emarginate +  and apiculate +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (1.6 cm16 mm <br />0.016 m <br />) +
brown +, pale pinkish +  and yellowish +
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 +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
in C. Backeberg and F. M. Knuth, Kaktus-ABC, +
3;2;2;30 +
tuberlike +
pale-yellow +  and brownish +
0.4mm;12mm +
1.9 cm19 mm <br />0.019 m <br /> (?) +
0.19 cm1.9 mm <br />0.0019 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
Illustrated +
deciduous +  and persistent +
conspicuous +
0 (?) +  and 12 (?) +
flattened +
hard +  and rigid +
decurrent +
winged +  and unsegmented +
tuberculate +  and smooth +
subwhorled +  and whorled +
16 cm160 mm <br />0.16 m <br /> (23 cm230 mm <br />0.23 m <br />) +
blackish +  and gray-green +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (16 cm160 mm <br />0.16 m <br />) +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br />) +
segmented +
woody +  and succulent +
whitish +  and pale-yellow +
Opuntia sect. Cylindropuntia +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Cylindropuntia fulgida +
Cylindropuntia +
species +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (3.3 cm33 mm <br />0.033 m <br />) +
1.3 cm13 mm <br />0.013 m <br /> (2.3 cm23 mm <br />0.023 m <br />) +
dull +  and glossy +
1.3 cm13 mm <br />0.013 m <br /> (1.9 cm19 mm <br />0.019 m <br />) +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (1.3 cm13 mm <br />0.013 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
terrestrial;epiphytic or epipetric +
gray +  and black +