Opuntia gosseliniana

Opuntia gosseliniana, commonly known as the violet pricklypear, is a species of cactus that is native to Pima County, Arizona in the United States and Baja California, Chihuahua, and Sonora in Mexico.

Opuntia gosseliniana
Opuntia gosseliniana var. duraznilla
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Opuntia
Species:
O. gosseliniana
Binomial name
Opuntia gosseliniana

Like most prickly pears, the pads are flat. Unlike most prickly pears, they have a violet, pink, or red tinge, hence the name. The cactus reaches mature heights of one to five feet and blooms either yellow or red.

Taxonomy

Different authorities disagree on the division of plants into Opuntia chlorotica, Opuntia violacea, Opuntia gosseliniana, Opuntia macrocentra,[2][3][4] and perhaps others. To complicate the issue, there are numerous natural hybrids between species.

Synonyms
  • Opuntia chlorotica Engelm. & Bigelow var. gosseliniana (A. Weber) Ferguson
  • Opuntia violacea Engelm. var. gosseliniana (A. Weber) L. Benson
  • Opuntia chlorotica Engelm. & Bigelow var. santa-rita Griffiths

Varieties
  • O. gosseliniana var. duraznilla
  • O. gosseliniana var. santa-rita (also known as Opuntia santa-rita[5])

Distribution
Santa Rita Prickly Pear

The above-mentioned taxonomic issues complicate any attempt to describe the distribution of particular varieties or species. O. gosseliniana is especially known from Mexico,[6] but has been reported from Arizona.[7]

References
  1. Puente, R. 2017. Opuntia gosseliniana (amended version of 2013 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T152167A121581855. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T152167A121581855.en. Downloaded on 16 September 2021.
  2. "Opuntia macrocentra". Flora of North America. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  3. Ferguson, David (1988). "Opuntia macrocentra Eng. and Opuntia chlorotica Eng. and Big" (PDF). Cactus and Succulent Journal. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  4. David, Ferguson (2017-06-20). "Opuntia chlorotica santa-rita". www.opuntiads.com. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  5. "Santa Rita Prickly Pear (Opuntia santa-rita)". Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  6. "Opuntia santa-rita". Flora of North America. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  7. Thomas R. Van Devender and Ana Lilia Reina. "The Forgotten Flora of la Frontera" (PDF).

Opuntia santa-rita occurs in Arizona while O. gosseliniana occurs only in Mexico. Field Guide to Caccti and other Succulents of Arizona. 2015 (3rd Edition, 2020).

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