Opuntia tehuacana S.Arias & U.Guzmán (1997: 131)

Martínez-González, César Ramiro, Morales-Sandoval, José De Jesús, González-Martínez, César Adrián, Jiménez-Ramírez, Jaime & Gallegos-Vázquez, Clemente, 2021, Opuntia tehuacana and O. olmeca (Cactaceae, Opuntioideae) are to be considered as ascribed to a single species: morphological and molecular evidences, Phytotaxa 479 (2), pp. 160-172 : 165-169

Opuntia tehuacana S.Arias & U.Guzmán (1997: 131) .

Type: — MEXICO: Puebla: Municipality Ajalpan, km 10.5 over the gap from Ajalpan to San Luis del Pino , L . U . Guzmán-Cruz , S . Gama and S . Arias 1006 (holotype: MEXU! isotypes: ENCB! IBUG!). = Opuntia olmeca Pérez, Reyes & Brachet (2005: 90) . Type: — MEXICO: Oaxaca: Municipality of Cuicatlán, 2 km northeast of Santiago Quitepec , dirt road to San Juan Coyula , S . C. s.n.

( holotype: MEXU!) .

Description:— Shrubby habit, 0.40–1.50 m high ( Fig. 1A ). Defined trunk, 35 cm in diameter, grayish scaly bark with yellow tones ( Fig. 1B ). Glabrous epidermis, irregular epidermal cells, slightly sunken parasitic stomas ( Fig. 6F ). Subcircular to slightly obovate cladodes, some elliptic, 19–30 cm long × 16–24 cm wide and 1.2–1.5 cm thick, green in color, covered with a light layer of wax, evident podaria ( Fig. 1C ). Areoles arranged in 5–6 series, 3.4 cm separation between series, 2.5 cm separation between areoles, elliptical, large 0.5 × 0.3 cm, blackish, short trichomes. Generally scarce, short (0.2–0.5 cm), yellow glochids arranged at the top of the areola. 1–7, white-grayish, flexible spines generally with some yellow spines, slightly subulated, twisted, adpressed, diffuse, and erect, unevenly 1–5.8 cm long. Juvenile cladodes with prominent tubers, areolas with short yellowish trichomes, subulate, erect, green leaves, at the basal part and reddish apex, yellow spines ( Fig. 2A ). Acute flower buds, yellowish-green perianth segments with mucronate apex, obovate pericarp, raised tubers, areolas with short trichomes, whitish color, yellow glochids, and areolas with yellow bristles ( Figs. 2B and 2C ). Red, orange, and yellow flowers ( Fig. 3C ), 6.0– 7.2 cm long, obovate pericarp, ca. 3.8 × 4.7 cm, areolas arranged in 2–4 series, spaced 0.96 cm apart, with crass basal scale, outer segments of obovate perianth, mucronate apex, smooth, yellow edges, with medium greenish striation, reddish apex ( Fig. 3E ), oblanceolate inner segments, retuse, yellow apex, smooth upper edges ( Fig. 3F ), stamens 1/3 of the length of perianth, greenish-yellow filaments, yellow anthers ( Fig. 4D ), cylindrical style, ca. 1.8 cm long, white, 8–12 yellow to light green papillary stigma lobes, ca. 0.4 cm long. Elliptical to obovate, green fruits ( Fig. 4E ), 3.7–4.2 cm long, green, very slightly sunken floral scar, striated, circular small areoles, arranged in 2–3 series, spaced 1.3 cm from each other and 1.8 cm between series, absent spines, wide, green, acidic walls, white dry and tasteless funicles, ( Fig. 4F ). Lenticular seed with irregular lateral aril, lateral hilum-micropillar region, micropilum and funiculus included.

Ecology and distribution:— Tropical deciduous forest, at elevations of 700–1500 m. Flowering time May–June; fruiting time July–September. Endemic to Mexico, it is known in the states of Oaxaca and Puebla in Valle de Tehuacán- Cuicatlán (e.g, Arias et al. 2012) .

Conservation status:— We attempt to provide the assessment, since complete data are not available. This species is here considered as DD (Deficient Data) according to the IUCN criteria ( IUCN 2019).

Additional specimens examined:— MEXICO. OAXACA: Dto. Cuicatlán: barranca El Quebracho, al este de la brecha, entre Santiago Quitepec y San Juan Coyula, García-García 742 (MEXU); 1 km noroeste de El Mirador, Santiago Dominguillo, Juárez-García 672 (MEXU). Dto. Nochixtlán: 4.7 km por la terracería Santiago Huauclilla-San Juan Tlalixtlahuaca, Aquino y Arias 62 (MEXU); 10.5 km por la terracería Santiago Huauclilla-San Juan Tlalixtlahuaca, Aquino y Arias 112 (MEXU). Dto. Teotitlán: 2 km al este de Santa María Tecomavaca, García-García 293 (MEXU), 294 (MEXU). PUEBLA: Mpio. Ajalpan: 18 km por la terracería de Ajalpan a San Luis del Pino, Arias y Guzmán- Cruz 1476 (MEXU). Mpio. Coxcatlán: 6 km por la terracería Coxcatlán, Arias et al. 927 (MEXU); above Calipan along Barranca de los Mangos, Smith et al. 3747 (MEXU).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Opuntia tehuacana. A. Shrubby habit, 1.20 m high. B. Defined trunk, grayish scaly bark with light brown tones. C. Juvenile cladode, prominent tubers, areolas with short yellowish trichomes. Photographs by Martínez-González.

FIGURE 2. Opuntia tehuacana. A. Subcircular to obovate cladodes. B. Parasitic stomas, isodiametric, multicellular epidermal cells. C. Flower bud, top view. D. Acute flower buds, reddish perianth segments, subcircular pericarp. E. Subcircular, green fruit. F. Longitudinal cut of the fruit, wide walls, white funicles with reddish tones. Photographs by Martínez-González.

FIGURE 3. Opuntia olmeca. A. Shrubby habit, 1.00 m high. B. Defined trunk, grayish scaly bark with light brown tones. C. Juvenile cladode, prominent tubers, areolas with short yellowish trichomes. Photographs by Martínez-González.

FIGURE 4. Opuntia olmeca. A. Elliptical cladode. B. Parasitic stoma, isodiametric, epidermal cells with a multicellular aspect. C. Flower bud, top view. D. Acute flower buds, green perianth segments with reddish apex, obovate to elliptical pericarp. E. Yellow flower in anthesis. F. Side view of the flower, outer segments of obovate perianth. Photographs by Martínez-González.

FIGURE 6. Maximum credibility phylogram of clades, using Bayesian inference of Opuntia s.s. species and related groups. The phylogenetic position of O. tehuacana and O. olmeca is shown in bold. The support of clades is represented by a corresponding thick line with subsequent Bayesian probability PP ≥ 0.95.