''Micropuntia'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

. Its only species is ''Micropuntia pulchella'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Grusonia pulchella''. The species is also known as sagebrush cholla. It is a tuberous

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of opuntioid

from the

Great Basin Desert The Great Basin Desert is part of the Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Range in the western United States. The desert is a geographical region that largely overlaps the Great Basin shrub steppe defined by the World Wildlife ...

of central

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, eastern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and western

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

in the United States.

Habitat

''Micropuntia pulchella'' grows in gravelly

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to Semi-arid climate, semiar ...

s, often above salt flats or

alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The a ...

basins. Specimens can be locally common, although they are difficult to locate, often growing under other shrubs such as

shadscale ''Atriplex confertifolia'', the shadscale or spiny saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, which is native to the western United States and northern Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a c ...

Description

''Micropuntia pulchella'' differs from other North American opuntioid cacti in having a

geophytic A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

habit, where above-ground growth dies back to the crown in adverse conditions, and resprouts under more favorable conditions. Authors have described the underground storage structure as a "tuberous root" or true

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

. The above-ground stems are variable, being cylindrical to globular. The areoles bear flexible yellow spines and white wool. Overall, the above-ground growth can often form a cushion-plant habit. The flowers are bright magenta, and the fruits are dehiscent. The seeds are unique, with a groove running along the hilar surface.Flora of North America, vol 4. 2004.

References

Bibliography

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q22132819, from2=Q93312413, from3=Q1551117, from4=Q14954472 Opuntioideae Cacti of the United States Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Great Basin Flora of Arizona Flora of California Flora of Nevada Flora of Utah Natural history of the Mojave Desert Flora without expected TNC conservation status Monotypic Cactaceae genera