Cylindropuntia whipplei ssp. enodis
I was just tipped off to a recent paper noting a subspecies of Cylindropuntia whipplei found in northwest Arizona and southern Nevada, C. whipplei ssp. enodis. Its principal difference (as discernible in photos) is its fruit with absent or much-reduced tubercles. Also, as noted here, the fruit can proliferate (like chain-fruit cholla). A search of iNaturalist observations turned up a number of matching plants, especially around Kingman, AZ.
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The paper that covers this even better is Baker, M. A. 2016. Morphological and cytological analyses in Cylindropuntia (Cactaceae): the taxonomic circumscription of C. echinocarpa, C. multigeniculata, and C. whipplei. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas. 10:325-343. Message me your email if you'd like a copy!
Cheers,
Michelle
Aha! Found it! I shoulda checked the references - figured there'd be a fuller treatment elsewhere. I'll give it a thorough read tomorrow. Thanks, Michelle!
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