|
|
|
||||||||
| The Cactus Patch |
| THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BAKERSFIELD CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY |
| Volume 5 February 2002 Number 2 |
| The Confusing Names of California Cacti
by L. Maynard Moe Photos by Stephen Cooley |
| Learning the names of the even the common cacti can be quite confusing and difficult because there are so many species (about 1800, depending on the authority) and there are no agreed upon common or Latin names. The variation within and between populations, and between species is complicated due to the history of cactus collecting and cultivation. Even (and maybe especially) the experts do not agree on the Latin names for the cacti species. Often, one type of cactus may have several names (both common and Latin) or one name has been applied to several different kinds. For example, Ferocactus (the barrel cactus) has had about 1000 names applied just to it! |
| The following is a list of cactus species currently known to grow wild in California. The first name is the one used in Hickman, The Jepson Manual (1993), the most recent manual of the flora of California. The second name is the one used in Munz (1968), A California Flora, the primary manual for the flora of California prior to the publication of The Jepson Manual. Finally, the last name is the one used by Anderson (2001), The Cactus Family, the most recent definitive work on the family. Some of the species have a single common name, some have no generally accepted common name, and others have several common names. The generally accepted common names are in all upper case letters. |
|
Bergerocactus emoryi (Engelm.) Britton & Rose ..... GOLDEN CEREUS Coastal Chaparral, San Diego Co., s. Channel Isl. = Cereus emoryi in Munz = Bergerocactus emoryi in Anderson Carnegia gigantea (Engelm.) Britton & Rose ..... SAGUARO Whipple Mtns. e Imperial Co. = Cereus giganteus in Munz = Carnegia gigantea in Anderson Echinocactus polycephalus Engelm. & Bigelow var. polycephalus ..... CLUSTERED BARREL, COTTON TOP e. Kern Co., San Bernardino Co, Inyo Co. = same in Munz and Anderson Echinocereus engelmannii (Engelm.) Lemaire ..... HEDGEHOG Inyo to Imperial Cos. = same in Munz and Anderson |
|
Echinocereus triglochidiatus Engelm. ..... CLARET CUP San Bernardino to Inyo Cos. = Echinocereus mojavensis in Munz = Echinocereus triglochidiatus in Anderson [Note: Echinocereus mojavensis is a distinct species in Anderson. ..... MOJAVE HEDGEHOG] |
 |
|
Escobaria vivipara (Nutt.) Buxb. var. alversonii (Coulter) Hunt ..... FOXTAIL CACTUS San Bernardino to Imperial Cos. = Mammillaria alversonii in Munz = Escobaria alversonii (Coulter) Taylor in Anderson E. v. var. deserti (Engelm.) Hunt ..... FOXTAIL CACTUS e. San Bernardino Co. = Mammillaria deserti in Munz = Escobaria deserti in Anderson E. v. var. rosea (Clokey) Hunt ne. San Bernardino Co. = not recognized in Munz = E. vivipara (Nutt.) Buxb. in Anderson. BEEHIVE CACTUS Ferocactus cylindraceus (Engelm.) Orc. var. cylindraceus ..... BARREL CACTUS San Bernardino & Riverside Cos. = Echinocactus acanthodes in Munz = Ferocactus cylindraceus ssp. cylindraceus in Anderson F. c. var. lecontei (Engelm.) Brav.-Holl. e. San Bernardino & Imperial Cos. = Echinocactus acanthodes in Munz = Ferocactus cylindraceus ssp. lecontei in Anderson Ferocactus viridescens (Torrey & Gray) B.&R. ..... COAST BARREL coastal s. CA = Echinocactus viridescens in Munz = Ferocactus viridescens in Anderson Mammillaria dioica Brandegee ..... CALIFORNIA FISHHOOK San Diego - San Bernardino - Imperial Cos. = same in Munz and Anderson Mammillaria milleri (Britton & Rose) Boed. ..... ARIZONA FISHHOOK se San Bernardino Co. = Mammillaria microcarpa in Munz = Mammillaria grayhamii in Anderson Mammillaria tetrancistra Engelm. ..... CALIFORNIA PINCUSHION San Bernardino to Imperial Cos. = same in Munz and Anderson Opuntia acanthocarpa Engelm. & Bigelow var. coloradensis Benson ..... BUCKHORN CHOLLA San Bernardino to Imperial Cos. = same in Munz = Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa var. coloradensis in Anderson Opuntia basilaris Engelm. & Bigelow var. basilaris ..... BEAVERTAIL "all over" southern CA = same in Munz and Anderson O. b. var. brachyclada (Griffiths) Munz ..... SHORT-JOINT BEAVERTAIL San Gabriel & San Bernardino Mtns. = same in Munz and Anderson O. b. var. treleasei (Coulter) Toum. ..... BAKERSFIELD CACTUS San Joaquin Valley, Kern Co. = same in Munz and Anderson Opuntia bigelovii Engelm. ..... TEDDY-BEAR CHOLLA, JUMPING CHOLLA San Bernardino to Imperial Cos. = same in Munz = Cylindropuntia bigelovii in Anderson Opuntia chlorotica Engelm. & Bigelow ..... PANCAKE PRICKLY-PEAR NY Mtns., e. San Bernardino Co. = same in Munz and Anderson Opuntia echinocarpa Engelm. & Bigelow ..... SILVER/GOLDEN CHOLLA e. Mono to Kern Cos, San Bernardino to Imperial Cos. = Cylindropuntia echinocarpa in Anderson Opuntia engelmannii Engelm. var. engelmannii ..... ENGELMAN PRICKLY-PEAR San Bernardino to Imperial Cos. Opuntia erinacea Engelm. & Bigelow var. erinacea (includes var. ursina) ..... MOJAVE & OLD MAN, PRICKLY-PEAR, GRIZZLY BEAR Mono to Inyo to San Bernardino Cos. = same in Munz = Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea in Anderson O. e. var. utahensis (Engelm.) Benson Mono - Inyo Cos. = Opuntia erinacea var. xanthostemma in Munz = Opuntia polyacantha var. polyacantha in Anderson Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Miller ..... INDIAN FIG cultivated, rarely adventive = same in Munz and Anderson Opuntia Xfosbergii Wolf ..... PINK TEDDY-BEAR CHOLLA e. San Diego Co. natural hybrid O. bigelovii X O. echinocarpa = same in Munz = Cylindropuntia Xfosbergii in Anderson Opuntia fragilis (Nutt.) Haw ...... BRITTLE PRICKLY PEAR Siskiyou to Modoc Cos. = same in Munz and Anderson Opuntia littoralis (Engelm.) Cockerell ..... COAST PRICKLY PEAR Santa Barbara Co. and Islands = Opuntia occidentalis var. littoralis in Munz = Opuntia littoralis in Anderson Opuntia Xmunzii Wolf ..... MUNZ's CHOLLA Imperial Co. natural hybrid? O. bigelovii X O. acanthocarpa = same in Munz = Cylindropuntia munzii in Anderson Opuntia Xoccidentalis Engelm. & Bigelow ..... PRICKLY PEAR s. Coastal Scrub natural hybrid? O. engelmannii X O. phaeacantha = Opuntia occidentalis in Munz = Opuntia Xoccidentalis in Anderson Opuntia oricola Philbr. ..... CHAPARRAL PRICKLY PEAR s. Coastal Scrub = not in Munz = Opuntia oricola in Anderson Opuntia parishii Orcutt ..... CLUB/MAT/DEVIL'S CHOLLA San Bernardino to Imperial Cos. = same in Munz = Grusonia parishii in Anderson |
| Opuntia parryi Engelm. ..... CANE/SNAKE CHOLLA Santa Barbara County south and east = Opuntia echinocarpa var. parkeri in Munz = Cylindropuntia californica var. parkeri in Anderson |
 |
Opuntia phaeacantha Engelm. ..... BROWN-SPINE CACTUS e. San Bernardino Co. = Opuntia mojavensis in Munz = Opuntia phaeacantha in Anderson |
|
Opuntia prolifera Engelm. ..... COAST CHOLLA Ventura Co. south = same in Munz = Cylindropuntia prolifera in Anderson |
|
Opuntia pulchella Engelm. ..... SAND CHOLLA, DWARF CHOLLA Inyo & Mono Cos. = same in Munz = Grusonia pulchella in Anderson Opuntia ramosissima Engelm. ..... PENCIL, DIAMOND CHOLLA e. Kern to San Bernardino to Inyo Cos. = same in Munz = Cylindropuntia ramosissima in Anderson Opuntia Xvaseyi (Coulter) Britton & Rose ..... APRICOT PRICKLY-PEAR s. CA Mtns. natural hybrid O. littoralis X O. phaeacantha = Opuntia occidentalis var. vaseyi in Munz = Opuntia Xvaseyi in Anderson Opuntia wolfii (Benson) Baker ..... WOLF'S CHOLLA Riverside to Imperial Cos. = same in Munz = Cylindropuntia wolfii in Anderson |
If you have any comments or questions or would like to
submit a photograph or article, contact
thecactuspatch@aol.com
| Material in The Cactus Patch may be reprinted by non-profit organizations (unless such permission is expressly denied in a note accompanying the material) provided that the proper credit is given to the BCSS & the author and that one copy of the publication containing the reprinted material is sent to the editor. Reproduction in whole or part by any other organization without the permission of the BCSS editor is prohibited. |