Opuntia fulgida Engelm.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
By rd from Hwali Business Centre to Manama Mission, Dibilishaba CL

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Synonyms:	Cylindropuntia fulgida (Engelm.) F.M. Knuth Cylindropuntia rosea (DC.) Backeb. Opuntia rosea DC.
Common names:	Chain fruit cholla (English) Jumping cholla (English)
Frequency:	Locally abundant
Status:	Introduced
Description:	Branched, very densely spiny, shrub-like succulent, up to c. 1.5 m. Segmented cylindric cladodes, up to 30 cm long, almost hidden by dense cover of clustered straight white barbed spines. Flowers borne near the apices of cladode branches, bright pink and white, showy; petals reflexed. Fruit yellow, berry-like, forming chains in older plants.
Notes:	Cladode segments break off easily and attach themselves to the skin of goats and cattle through the barbed spines, which also painfully penetrate and irritate skin. Once segments fall off, they easily take root and grow, thus spreading the plants. In some places, the species is highly invasive and is locally abundant. Probably introduced as an ornamental and hedge plant into South Africa and now has become naturalised in some dry communal areas in the south of the country.
Derivation of specific name:
Habitat:	On roadsides, in open woodland and on rocky hills.
Altitude range: (metres)
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Native to Southwest USA and Mexico; naturalised in South Africa and the extreme south of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe distribution:	W,S
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Images last updated:	Sunday 30 March 2008
Literature:

Other sources of information about Opuntia fulgida:

Our websites:

Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Opuntia fulgida

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Opuntia fulgida
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Opuntia fulgida
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Opuntia fulgida
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Opuntia fulgida
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Opuntia fulgida
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Opuntia fulgida
JSTOR Plant Science: Opuntia fulgida
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Opuntia fulgida
Plants of the World Online: Opuntia fulgida
Tropicos: Opuntia fulgida
Wikipedia: Opuntia fulgida