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Opuntia imbricata

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Plants

                 iCane Cholla
           Scientific classification

   Kingdom:  Plantae
   Division: Magnoliophyta
   Class:    Magnoliopsida
   Order:    Caryophyllales
   Family:   Cactaceae
   Genus:    Opuntia
   Subgenus: Cylindropuntia
   Species:  O. imbricata

                                Binomial name

   Opuntia imbricata
   Haw. ( DC.)

   The cane cholla (or walking stick cholla, tree cholla, chainlink
   cactus, etc.) (Opuntia imbricata) is a cactus found in arid parts of
   North America, including some cooler regions in comparison to many
   other cacti. It is often conspicuous because of its shrubby or even
   tree-like size, its silhouette, and its long-lasting yellowish fruits.

Range and habitat

   Its range is dry areas from Utah, New Mexico, and west Texas (rarely
   northeast to western Kansas) south to Durango, Zacatecas, and San Luis
   Potosí—one of the most northern and eastern ranges of all chollas.^ It
   occurs at altitudes from 1200 m to 2300 m (4000 to 7500 feet) and is
   hardy for a cactus ( USDA Zone 5A^ ).

   In parts of its range, often just below the pinyon- juniper belt, it
   can be abundant, surrounded by low grasses and forbs that are brown
   most of the year; in such places chollas are conspicuous as the only
   tall green plant. Plants may form thickets or be spaced at a few times
   their width in "gardens".

Description

   The above-ground part consists of much-branched cylindrical stems, the
   end joints being about 3 cm in diameter. The joints, unlike those of
   some chollas, are hard to detach. The stems are highly tubercular
   (lumpy) with a pattern of long oval lumps. A typical height is about 1
   m, but exceptionally it can grow to 4.6 m (15 ft) with a "trunk"
   diameter of 25 cm (10 in). The width is often similar to or somewhat
   greater than the height. The stems are armed with clusters of up to
   about 10 whitish spines, which may be 2.5 cm (1 in) long and are barbed
   and sharp enough to easily penetrate leather gardening gloves. The
   stems and fruits also have many spines or "glochids" about 1 mm long
   that can detach and stick annoyingly in the skin.

   This species blooms in late spring or early summer. The flowers, at the
   ends of the terminal joints, are purple or magenta, rarely rose-pink,
   about 5 cm (2 in) wide. The fruits are yellowish, tubercular like the
   stems, and shaped something like the frustum of a cone, with a hollow
   at the wide end where the flower fell off; they are often mistaken for
   flowers. The plant retains them all winter. Unlike the fruits of some
   Opuntia species, they are dry and not tasty, though the Indians of
   Arizona and New Mexico are said to have eaten them.

Cultivation

   The plants are sometimes grown as ornamentals, despite their sharp
   thorns and tendency to spread. Dead stems decay to leave a hollow
   wooden tube with a pattern of lengthwise slits. These are sometimes
   used as canes or to make curios. The Roman Catholic Penitentes of New
   Mexico formerly tied fresh stems to their bare backs in Holy Week
   processions.

   Flowers and previous year's fruit

   At Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument

   "Cane" (dried stem)
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia_imbricata"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
