''Opuntia aciculata'', also called Chenille pricklypear, old man's whiskers, and cowboy's red whiskers, is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

dicot The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, ...

and an attractive ornamental cactus native to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It belongs to the genus ''

Opuntia ''Opuntia'', commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Cacti are native to the Americas, and are well adapted to arid clima ...

'' (prickly pear cacti). It is also widespread in

Nuevo Leon Nuevo is the Spanish word for "new". It may refer to: * Nuevology, California, a town in California, United States * Nuevo (band), featuring singer and musician Peter Godwin * Nuevo (Bayamón), a settlement in Puerto Rico * "Nuevo", Spanish-langu ...

and

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

(northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

). It was reported from Nuevo León, Mexico, according to D. Weniger in 1970. The

specific Specific may refer to: * Specificity (disambiguation) * Specific, a cure or therapy for a specific illness Law * Specific deterrence, focussed on an individual * Specific finding, intermediate verdict used by a jury in determining the final ...

name ''aciculata'' derives from many sources: the Latin word ''acicula'' which means “a small pin for a headdress”. Chenille prickly pear, one of its vernacular names, comes for the fringe of spines around the edge of the pad. The specific name also means "covered with small pins".

Description

It has numerous glochids or microspines, 3–12 mm long, acicular,

slender Slender may refer to: Term * Gracility or slenderness Literature * Abraham Slender, a character in William Shakespeare's ''The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merry Wives of Winsor'' Slender Man *Slender Man, a fictional supernatural character * ...

, spreading, forming a dense cluster. They are normally golden yellow to dark red in color. It has often no spines, or rarely one to three, which are reflexed. They are of a yellowish or toasted colour with a brownish base, up to 3 cm in length. They are often folded and seemingly deciduous. It has broad, point-tipped blossoms colored golden yellow, orange, or red and of diameter 8–10 cm. Several sources report the flowers as being yellow in color, but the plants in cultivation usually have bright red-orange flowers, and sometimes the centre is greenish. Petals are broad-rounded or retuse, filaments are yellowish and the stigma dull yellowish with eight to 10 green lobes. They mostly flower in early summer or spring. The plant's fruits are usually pear-shaped, covered with fine spines and glochids, and are purple or green.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to Chihuahuan Desert (Texas) and northern Mexico.

Ecology

Like its other cactus relatives, this deciduous and succulent species also has its leaves reduced to spines to reduce excess

transpiration Transpiration is the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as leaves, stems and flowers. It is a passive process that requires no energy expense by the plant. Transpiration also cools plants, c ...

, which helps it to survive by conserving water in the hot climate of Texas, in southwestern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and

North Mexico Northern Mexico ( ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuil ...

. This

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

also helps in defending itself from being consumed by any herbivores there. It has the special ability to propagate from woody or softwood stem cuttings. It can even propagate by cuttings of leaf pads at any time in the growing season, allowing the cut surface to callus over before planting. This cactus can survive healthily and produce good many flowers only if it is fully exposed to the sun. They can also tolerate temperatures from −5 to −12 °C.

Uses

The fruits are edible and the soft pads (''nopales'') can be cooked as vegetables. After burning of spines, the pads can serve as a good feed for cattle.

References

External links

Opuntia aciculata photo gallery at Opuntia Web
{{Taxonbar, from=Q150785

aciculata Errantia is a diverse group of marine life, marine polychaete worms in the phylum Annelida. Traditionally a subclass (biology), subclass of the paraphyletic class Polychaeta, it is currently regarded as a monophyletic group within the larger Pleis ...

Edible plants Cacti of Mexico Cacti of the United States Desert fruits