Nopalea

Salm-Dyck

Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849, 63. 1850.

Common names: Nopal nopal chamacuero
Etymology: Mexican Spanish nopal, name for pricklypear cactus and their edible stems
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Treatment on page 148. Mentioned on page 93, 95.
 TaxonIllustrator 
FNA4 P25 Opuntia basilaris var basilaris.jpegOpuntia basilaris var. basilaris
Opuntia polyacantha var. polyacantha
Nopalea cochenillifera
John Myers
John Myers
John Myers

Trees or shrubs, erect or branches sometimes pendent, branched, 1–6 (–10) m; trunk absent or elliptic in cross-section, becoming ± terete with age, originating from consecutive pads, main axis determinate and segmented. Stem segments flattened, narrowly linear to obovate or falcate, 6–30 (–50) × 3–10 (–15) cm, low to strongly tuberculate; areoles on both surfaces, commonly elevated, elliptic to subcircular, 3–6 × 2–5 mm; wool tan to white. Spines absent or 1–3 (–12) per areole, stout to hairlike, with epidermis intact, not sheathed. Glochids scattered in areole to densely arranged in tuft at adaxial margin, yellow, brown, or redbrown. Flowers bisexual, radially symmetric, 3–7 (–10) cm; tepals erect; inner tepals closely appressed against numerous, slender filaments; filaments and style much exceeding perianth, pink to red or scarlet; fresh stigma lobes light green, aging pink; nectar chamber covered by extended proximal thickening of style. Pollen yellow to pink, 12-porate, with very fine punctae and spinulae, cohesive, sticky. Fruits red or sometimes aging purplish, cylindric or ellipsoid (circular in cross-section), 15–50 × 20–40 mm, juicy, often tuberculate, spineless or spiny, with very deep umbilicus. Seeds grayish or tan to brownish, flattened, notched at hilum, 3–5.5 mm diam., smooth to lumpy, covered by bony funicular envelope, glabrous or slightly hairy; girdle protruding to 1.5 mm. x = 11.

Distribution

Escapes in Fla, Mexico, Central America (Panama), West Indies, and cultivated in subtropical and tropical regions

Discussion

Species 8 (1 in the flora).

Plants of Nopalea are pollinated by hummingbirds, and their winter flowering coincides with hummingbird migration. The stems and flowers are edible and used as forage. The plants are used medicinally as a tea to relieve kidney-stone pain and as a poultice on wounds. They are also used as hedges and living fences.

Selected References

None.

... more about "Nopalea"
cushionlike +
nearly +  and circular +
deciduous +  and persistent +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
elliptic +  and subcircular +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
Donald J. Pinkava +
Salm-Dyck +
600 cm6,000 mm <br />6 m <br /> (1,000 cm10,000 mm <br />10 m <br />) +
100 cm1,000 mm <br />1 m <br /> (600 cm6,000 mm <br />6 m <br />) +
proliferating +
flattened +  and cylindric +
Nopal +  and nopal chamacuero +
Escapes in Fla +, Mexico +, Central America (Panama) +, West Indies +  and and cultivated in subtropical and tropical regions +
Mexican Spanish nopal, name for pricklypear cactus and their edible stems +
pink +  and red or scarlet +
7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
salverform +, cup-shaped +  and rotate +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
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 />) +
spiny +  and spineless +
purplish;red +
indehiscent +
persistent +, long +  and deciduous +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
tuberculate +
ellipsoid +  and cylindric +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 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 +
consecutive +
persistent +  and deciduous +
yellow +  and pink +
ridgelike +  and nipple--shaped +
Cact. Hort. Dyck. +
3;2;2;30 +
tuberlike +
tan +  and brownish +
3mm;5.5mm +
hairy +  and glabrous +
smooth +  and lumpy +
notched;flattened +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
not sheathed +
deciduous +  and persistent +
conspicuous +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
hairlike +
hard +  and rigid +
decurrent +
winged +  and unsegmented +
tuberculate +  and smooth +
30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br /> (50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br />) +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
segmented +
woody +  and succulent +
pink +  and light green +
pink +  and red or scarlet +
extended +
thickening +
adventitious +
tuberlike +
epipetric +  and epiphytic +
Nopalea +
Cactaceae subfam. Opuntioideae +
dull +  and glossy +
simple +  and many branched +
shrub +  and tree +
terrestrial;epiphytic or epipetric +
tan +  and white +