Austrocylidropuntia subulata or cholla

[Mike]

Hi

I posted a new one in a recent post "4 more" where this was ID as either cholla or subulata. At the LA fall cactus sale, a few said subulata also.


The subulata is either rather variable, or changes quite a bit as it grows, or both. Below are 4 cacti that Have been ID as subulata.

The back one is what I thought a juvenile looked like. THe left is a small offshoot of an adult. The smallest is the possible cholla, and the other 2d tallest looked like subulata monstrosus on the altman plants website.
The only one I wonder about is the small one, since it has more spines than any of the others even tho it is the smallest.

Any reactions - I would be interested in seeing others I know some of you have.

Thanks Mike

[Tony]

Hi

I Think I have had that plant growing in my front yard about 5 years. It was labeled O. tunicata At the time I bought It.It grows very fast here,and it's spines are very sticky.Ounce It gets ya, it doesnt want to let go.The name has probably been changed 5 times by now however.I'll try to get a photo posted soon.

[daiv]

The three others are definately cut branches off a mature plant one new growth, one older growth, one monstrose. The little one may be from seed, which would not look like the others. I don't think it is A. subulata, however. But I can't say for sure. It is another example of how difficult seedling ID can be.

[Tony]

[Tony]

Hi Mike, My plant looks very similar when it's actively growing.with the small leaves growing from the branch tips.It must be resting right now because It has none. I have not seen it bloom yet. Tony

[Mike]

Hi Tony,

I think you are right. Below is another pic I found on the web. Some of the adults seem very spiny - all about an inch long, so we will see how it grows. http://www.vildensky.com/images/Cactace ... nicata.jpg

It doesn't seem to show up much on google, which is my only suspicion. I always wonder when I seem to have an uncommon plant, but it sure looks right here. Mike

[ihc6480]

The problem with Cylindropuntia's (chollas) is alot of them do look very similar.
I have no doubt that it's a cholla but still unsure of it's true name.

Heres some more pics for ya to look at for comparision.
http://images.google.com/images?q=Opuntia%20tunicata

Here is a picture of one of my cholla's-- see what I mean by similarities


Bill

[Mike]

thanks Bill. I agree with you it is hard to tell. Someone told me it was "pencil cholla" but when i looked at desert tropical, none of the 3 listed seemed to match. I guess time will tell, or maybe not.

What is yours by the way.

Mike

[DieTer-Xz]

Well, I don't think it's Cylindropuntia tunicata, this species isn't as variable as the other opuntioids, or maybe the plants in culture are selected; I can at least say that I haven't seen any Cylindropuntia tunicata with such a low density of spines.
I have a lot of doubts about the A. subulata too, it seems a lot of plants are ID'ed as A. subulata; maybe they're right, or then again, they may be not...

[Tony]

It seems that now I may have yet another unidentifed cactus. Oh well, I wont throw out the tag just yet.My(cholla?)looks exactly like ihc6480's and I would also like to know what it is?

[ihc6480]

It seems that now I may have yet another unidentifed cactus. Oh well, I wont throw out the tag just yet.My(cholla?)looks exactly like ihc6480's and I would also like to know what it is?

Tony,
The picture I posted is Cylindropuntia imbricata var. imbricata (giant tree cholla). Your cholla bears alot of resemblence to mine. But theres still that uncertainty especially with yours being varigated.

Bill