Grusonia pulchella

(Engelmann) H. Robinson

Phytologia 26: 176. 1973.

Common names: Sand club-cholla
IllustratedEndemic
Basionym: Opuntia pulchel la Engelmann Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis 2: 201. 1863
Synonyms: Corynopuntia pulchella (Engelmann) F. M. Knuth Micropuntia barkleyana Daston Micropuntia brachyrhopalica Daston Micropuntia gracilicylindrica Daston Micropuntia pygmaea Wiegand & Backeberg Micropuntia spectatissima Daston Micropuntia tuberculosirhopalica Wiegand & Backeberg Micropuntia wiegandii Backeberg
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Treatment on page 122. Mentioned on page 119, 123.

Shrubs, forming clumps, 10–20 cm. Roots tuberlike, 7–10 × 3.5–5 (–7.5) cm. Stem segments cylindric to ellipsoid, clavate, 1–4 (–10) × 0.5–1.2 (–2.5) cm; tubercles rather prominent, 5–9 mm; areoles 1–2 mm in diam.; wool white to gray. Spines 8–15 per areole, mostly in distal areoles, divergent to deflexed, redbrown or white, aging gray, flattened, longest to 6 cm. Glochids adaxial in areole, yellow to reddish yellow, to 8 mm, barbed. Flowers: inner tepals rose to purple, 15–25 mm; filaments green to yellow; style purplish; stigma lobes white to yellowish. Fruits reportedly reddish, obconic, 15–30  8–12 mm, fleshy, smooth; spines hairlike, flexible, antrorsely barbed; areoles ± 50. Seeds whitish, 3–6 mm broad. 2n = 22.


Phenology: Flowering late spring (May–Jul).
Habitat: Mojave Desert, Great Plains, sandy to rocky flats or slopes, often at edges of dry washes and lakes
Elevation: 1200-1900 m

Discussion

Reports of Grusonia pulchella in Arizona (L. D. Benson 1969, 1982; J. Lode 1993) are undocumented (B. D. Parfitt 1988) or lack adequate specimens. Those reports resulted either from locality data errors or confusion with G. parishii or Cylindropuntia whipplei.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Grusonia pulchella"
cushionlike +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
cushionlike +
Donald J. Pinkava +
(Engelmann) H. Robinson +
curving +
dislodged +
cylindric-clavate +
Opuntia pulchel +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
Sand club-cholla +
Calif. +, Nev. +  and Utah. +
1200-1900 m +
green +  and yellow +
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 />) +
indehiscent +
persistent +, long +  and deciduous +
obconic +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
not protruding +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
Mojave Desert, Great Plains, sandy to rocky flats or slopes, often at edges of dry washes and lakes +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 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 +
sometimes covered by outgrowths of proximal portion of style base or of flower tube wall +  and open +
persistent +  and deciduous +
Flowering late spring (May–Jul). +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
3;2;2;30 +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (7.5 cm75 mm <br />0.075 m <br />) +
adventitious +
7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br /> (?) +  and 10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (?) +
tuberlike +
3.5cm +  and 5cm +
0.4mm;12mm +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
flattened;suborbicular +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
gray +, white +  and redbrown +
deciduous +  and persistent +
conspicuous +
8 (?) +  and 15 (?) +
hairlike +  and flattened +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
hard +  and rigid +
decurrent +
winged +  and unsegmented +
tuberculate +  and smooth +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
segmented +
woody +  and succulent +
white +  and yellowish +
Corynopuntia pulchella +, Micropuntia barkleyana +, Micropuntia brachyrhopalica +, Micropuntia gracilicylindrica +, Micropuntia pygmaea +, Micropuntia spectatissima +, Micropuntia tuberculosirhopalica +  and Micropuntia wiegandii +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Grusonia pulchella +
Grusonia +
species +
dull +  and glossy +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
conspicuous +
terrestrial;epiphytic or epipetric +
trailing +  and erect +
white +  and gray +