other cactus

[Weiser]

Here is Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa var. coloradensis found growing in the  Sonoran and Mojave deserts.

[Nold]

The mystery Opuntia must be the one he lists as Opuntia polyacantha ‘Peter Pan’.     

That could be. I seem to recall it having a name in the nursery this year.
You can even pick the pads up with your fingers.

Bob

[Kelaidis]

Wow, John..that's a new one for me..

I am posting a few images I was sorting today (of cacti): random things that should interest those of us "stuck" on cacti, beginning with...

1) Opuntia "fragilis" (now with a Hungarian name I can't spell--for the spineless ones ex s Utah) This one is named 'Potato' and the plant is in Bob Nold's garden..I was a few days early for the full bloom, drats!
2) The second is a pot where I accidentally put two Escobarias, one (the purple one) obviously vivipara. Any guesses on the flesh colored one?
3) The last is Escobaria vivipara v. vivipara from east central Kansas: I took that picture near the Flint Hills, probably just about the easternmost extent of the species. Quite different from those further west (the area it grows in probably gets 30" of rain!)

[Nold]

I like that acanthocarpa.... Think I tried it once, but it was a cutting, and the woodier the cutting, the harder it is to root.
If I knew then what I know now, I would've cut the spines off about 2cm from the end with a razor blade (what a fun job), let them callus, then dust with sulfur, and laid the joint down to root.
Since cholla joints and tuna pads have this tendency to fall over after I stick them in dirt, or whatever, I use landscaping staples to hold them in place.
Opuntia debreczyi. I think the name fragilis is just fine. FNA doesn't recognize debreczyi (which doesn't mean anything). It's apparently based on observations of a plant grown in Hungary from a collection by Mary Ann Heacock. http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50291306

 I prefer lumping to splitting when it comes to the Cactaceae. Otherwise every single cactus would have its own name.

Bob

[McDonough]

I keep seeing the term "tuna pads".  To a non-cactusphile, what does this term mean?

[Weiser]

Here is what Dave Ferguson has to say about it.
http://opuntiads.com/html/opuntia-debreczyi.html

A synonym for the larger forms of  debreczyi in the trade is 'rutila' or 'super rutila'

A couple of the larger forms One almost spineless, the other with spines.

[Weiser]

Prickly pears are also known as "tuna" south of the border. Nopales is the Spanish name for Prickly Pear Cactus pads. Prickly Pear Cactus produce both nopales, a vegetable, and tuna, a fruit. As a vegetable, Nopales can be used in salads, casseroles, soups, grilled and prepared in a variety of other ways.

[McDonough]

Thanks John, I was hoping to find the etymologic meaning behind the word "tuna" as it applies to Opuntia and prickly pears (as opposed to the fidsh), the following wikipedia links describes it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia
"The fruit of prickly pears, commonly called cactus fruit, cactus fig, Indian fig or tuna in Spanish"

My understanding of "tuna" is now expanded

[Nold]

I was being lazy. As usual. Tuna are the pads, or the fruit, and chollas are the upright ones. The pads are also called nopales.
As to Opuntia debreczyi, the cactus on the upper right on the website is the type specimen. I think I have a plant of that from Mary Ann.
"Behaves like a species" in the wild? What on earth could that possibly mean?

Bob

[RickR]

Since the topic here is "Other Cactus", what do you think of these?

               






     ----- Made ya look, didn't I...

[Nold]

Made ya look, didn't I 

Yes, you did.

Bob

[Nold]

Thought I'd post a list of the gymnocalyciums I planted this year (with Mesa Garden numbers), in trays, or dishes, or bowls (whatever) of Mexican pottery. The cactus may be hardier in the ground, but if so, too bad for them.
G. andreae 454.03
G. bruchii 458
G. calochlorum 459.2 and 459.21
G. calochlorum var. proliferum 459.33 and 459.5
Poor 459.5, it's already doomed. Tissue damage (not counting being nibbled by rodents) at temperatures not very far below freezing. Sometimes this happens because of other factors, and the plants recover, but in this case, I think not.

Bob

[Weiser]

Poor 459.5, it's already doomed. Tissue damage (not counting being nibbled by rodents) at temperatures not very far below freezing. Sometimes this happens because of other factors, and the plants recover, but in this case, I think not.

Bob

I don't think that little fella will make it either!

[Weiser]

 This is Coryphantha echinus. I've had this plant five years now. It is very hardy in zone 7.
Some years it will put on both a spring and summer show.

[Weiser]

I found this interesting when I read it for the first time.

Some cactus growers lump the Escobaria species into the genus Coryphantha. In the older Taxonomy texts you will find this to be the case, almost all the Escobaria species, were indeed, included in the genus Coryphantha. There is however a subtle difference in the seed surfaces of the two genera.
In Coryphantha, the seed surfaces are reticulate/net-like or with a crosshatch pattern.  In Escobaria, the seed  coats are foveolate/pitted, with a dimpled pattern.