Cylindropuntia echinocarpa (Silver Cholla)

5/30/99 Between Belle & White Tank, Joshua Tree National Park, Riverside County, CA

4/3/17 Ricardo Campground, Red Rock Canyon State Park,
Kern County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Silver Cholla

SPECIES: Cylindropuntia echinocarpa

FAMILY: Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 5/30/1999

LOCATION: Between Belle & White Tank, Joshua Tree National Park, Riverside County, CA

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Treatment from The Jepson Manual (1993):

Habit: Plant < 3 m. 

Stem: trunks 1 to few, main branches spreading to curving upwards, few, generally short; terminal segments generally < 10 cm, 2--3 cm diam, firmly attached; tubercle 6--15 mm, < 8 mm high. 

Spines: 9--20, < 4 cm, pale gray to translucent yellow, sheath generally same color. 

Flower: inner perianth < 2.5 cm, yellow-green; filaments green to pale yellow. 

Fruit: dry, proximal tubercles +- = distal; base obtuse; spines dense distally. 

Seed: < 6 mm, generally fertile. 

Ecology: Creosote-bush/white bur-sage, blackbush, saltbush, other desert and GB scrub; 

Elevation: 300--1600 m. 

Bioregional Distribution: s SNF, SNE, D; 

Distribution Outside California: to Utah, Arizona, northern Baja California. 

Flowering Time: Mar--Jun 

Synonyms: Opuntia echinocarpa Engelm. & J.M. Bigelow; Cylindropuntia wigginsii (L.D. Benson) H. Rob.; Cylindropuntia ×wigginsii (L.D. Benson) H. Rob.; Opuntia wigginsii L.D. Benson; Opuntia ×wigginsii L.D. Benson