Thursday, October 20, 2016

Named after a cactus


Large waves during the past week have washed lots of seaweed onto the beaches.  Pictured above is Red Opuntia (Opuntiella californica) named after prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.).  Note the distinctive growth form, with spreading branches of rounded blades.

P.S.  I had no idea — Do you know how many different species of prickly pear cactus can be found in California?  Any guesses?  The answer is: Fifteen!  (There's only one species of Opuntiella in the state.)

No comments:

Post a Comment