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Perennials, Tropicals > Opuntia > Opuntia pulchella > Opuntia pulchella

Opuntia pulchella


Sand Cholla




Origin:  California, Nevada and Utah, United States of America.
Family
Cactaceae
Genus
Opuntia
Species
pulchella
Category
Perennials, Tropicals
Photographs
Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
General Description
A low, clump forming shrub, larger terminal joints which gradually develop upward, narrowly ellipsoid or cylindroid.
Cultivation
Sandy soils.
Habitat
Dessert dunes, river bottoms, dry lake edges, valley and plains at an altitude of 1,200-1,500 m.
Leaf Description
Spines are long, flattened, ridged and grooved and found at the top of the joint, greyish-white, brown or pink in colour, 8-15 per areole, 6 cm x 1.5 mm.
Flower Description
A beautifully soft purple or rose in colour, 3-4 x 3-4.5 cm. The filament is a greenish-yellow in colour and 6 mm long, anthers 1.5 mm long and yellow, the style purplish, 10-15 mm in length.
Fruit Description
Smooth, soft purplish-brown spines (20 or more per fruit), fleshy and reddish in colour, 2-3 x 1-1.2 cm.
Notable Specimens
Mojave Desert, California, United States of America. Sagebrush Desert, Nevada, United States of America.
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