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Micropuntia barkleyana
(Syn:  Grusonia pulchella)

Flowers are very nice!

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Family: Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Scientific Name: Micropuntia barkleyana Daston (1946) Published in: Amer. Midl. Nat. 36 (3): 661(1946)

Conservation status: Listed in CITES appendix 2.

Common Names: Sand cholla, Dwarf Cholla, Sand club-cholla, beautifull cholla

Distribution range  of Micropuntia pulchella: Northern Mojave Desert from eastern California (Deep Springs Valley)  to southern Utah and Nevada  (Churchill, Douglas, Esmeralda, Lander, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, and Washoe counties) and Arizona. Elevation : 1100-1900 meters.

Habitat : "Sand Mountain, Sand of dunes, dry-lake borders, river bottoms, washes, valleys, sandy to rocky flats or slopes,  and plains in the desert. Mainly on sandy soils but also found in a variable range of soil types  "

Synonyms:

• Grusonia pulchella (Engelmann) Robinson,
  Published in: Phytologia 26 (3): 176 (1973)
• Opuntia pulchella Engelmann,
  Published in: Trans. St. Louis Acad. 2: 201(1863)
• Corynopuntia pulchella (Engelmann) Knuth in Backeberg & Knuth,
  Published in: Kaktus-ABC 115 (1935)
• Micropuntia pulchella (Engelmann) M.P. Griffith,
  Published in: Haseltonia 9:91 (2002)
• Micropuntia barkleyana Daston,
  Published in:Amer. Midl. Nat. 36 (3): 661(1946)
• Opuntia barkleyana (Daston) Rowley,
  Published in: Nat. Cact. & Succ. Journ.13 (1): 5 (1958)
• Micropuntia brachyrhophalica Daston
  Published in: Amer. Midl. Nat. 36 (3):661 (1946)
• Opuntia brachyrhopalica (Daston) Rowley
  Published in: Nat. Cact. & Succ. Journ. 13 (1): 5 (1958)
• Micropuntia spectatissima Daston,
  Published in: Amer. Midl. Nat. 36 (3):661 (1946)
• Opuntia spectatissima (Daston) Rowley
  Published in: Nat. Cact. & Succ.Journ. 13 (1): 5 (1958)
• Micropuntia gracilicylindrica Wiegand & Backeberg,
  Published in: Descr. Cact.Nov. [1]: 9 (1956)
• Opuntia gracilicylindrica (Wiegand & Backeberg) Rowley,
  Published in: Nat.Cact. & Succ. Journ. 13 (1): 5 (1958)
• Micropuntia pygmaea Wiegand & Backeberg,
  Published in: Descr. Cact. Nov.[1]: 9 (1956)
• Opuntia pygmaea (Wiegand & Backeberg) Rowley,
  Published in: Nat. Cact. & Succ. Journ. 13 (1): 5 (1958)
• Micropuntia tuberculosirhophalica Wiegand & Backeberg
  Published in: Descr.Cact. Nov. [1]: 9 (1956)
• Opuntia tuberculosirhophalica (Wiegand & Backeberg) Rowley, Published in: Nat.Cact. & Succ. Journ. 13 (1): 5 (1958)
• Micropuntia wiegandii Backeberg,
  Published in: Descr. Cact. Nov. [1]: 9 (1956)
• Micropuntia gigantea Wiegand & Backeberg,
  Published in: Descr. Cact. Nov.[1]: 9 (1956) pro syn.
• Opuntia wiegandii (Backeberg) Rowley,
  Published in: Nat. Cact. & Succ.Journ. 13 (1): 5 (1958)

Description:  Attractive mini Opuntia, forming low sub-erected shrubs  more or less dense and large, spread cushions hiding a large tuber below ground.
Stem segments: Cylindric to ellipsoid, clavate, 1-4(-10) × 0.5-1.2(-2.5) cm; tubercles purple tinged rather prominent, 5-9 mm;  
Spines: 8-15 per areole, mostly in distal areoles at the tip of the stem, divergent to deflexed, red-brown or white, aging grey, somewhat flattened, with woolly areoles white to grey.
Flowers: rose to purple; 15-35 mm; filaments green to yellow; style purplish; stigma lobes white to yellowish. Flowering late spring (May-June).
Roots: The root system of young specimens is fibrous, but will slowly enlarge to form a corky caudex with short tuberose roots.
Fruits: Reddish obconic to ellipsoids, 15-30 × 8-12 mm smooth and juicy in a first time, becoming quickly dry.
 

A 12 years old specimen showing the characteristic corky caudex and the tuberose root. The caudex will take several years to develop.

Cultivation:  This plant is not easy to grow.  Good resistance to the cold (-10°C) but it can't stand humidity. Plants are susceptible to overwatering and are extremely rot-prone. They have sensitive roots . Keep the plants away from places with elevated humidity in the air. They need to grow in a very ventilated and dry environment, in full sun. They need to be kept in a cool (and dry) place during winter rest (at -5 / 10°C). This is important for the flowers as well as for their health. Without this cool winter period they normally won't get many buds.

Propagation:  Cutting or (rarely) seeds. Rooting of cuttings is generally difficult.
 

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of Micropuntia pulchella .

• Micropuntia bakleyana ( = pulchella )
• Micropuntia tuberculosirhophalica  ( = pulchella )

All the information and photos in cactus art files are now available also in the new the Enciclopedia of Cacti. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.