Syn. Pl. Succ. 191 (1812) APNI
Taxonomic status:Accepted
Occurrence status:Present
Establishment means:Naturalised
Spreading to erect, clump-forming shrub to c. 1.5 m high; trunk absent or poorly developed. Terminal cladodes compressed, elliptic to obovate, 15–25 cm long, 7–13 cm wide, dull, mid green to grey-green; areoles up to c. 30 per cladode face, c. 3–5 cm apart, filled with brownish wool and short yellow glochids; spines absent or 1 per areole in some marginal areoles, spreading, rigid, 1–4(–6) cm long, 0.5–1 mm wide near base, yellow to brown. Flowers 5–6.5 cm diam.; sepaloids greenish with yellow margins; petaloids spreading, yellow, apices rounded to emarginate; stamens yellow; style and stigmas pale yellow or whitish; hypanthium smooth. Fruit obovoid, 4–6 cm long, 2.5–4 cm diam., shallowly depressed at apex, smooth, purple, juicy, deciduous when ripe. Flowers late spring–summer.
*CVU, *GipP, *Gold, *HSF, *MuF, *MuM, *NIS, *OtP, *RobP, *VRiv, *VVP, *Wim. Naturalised all mainland States. Native to drier areas of tropical and subtropical America. A serious weed, particularly in dry, rocky country (e.g. Eldorado near Beechworth, Organ Pipes National Park near Keilor).
Bioregion | Occurrence status | Establishment means | |
---|---|---|---|
Murray Mallee | present | naturalised | |
Wimmera | present | naturalised | |
Victorian Volcanic Plain | present | naturalised | |
Victorian Riverina | present | naturalised | |
Robinvale Plains | present | naturalised | |
Murray Fans | present | naturalised | |
Gippsland Plain | present | naturalised | |
Otway Plain | present | naturalised | |
Goldfields | present | naturalised | |
Central Victorian Uplands | present | introduced | |
Northern Inland Slopes | present | naturalised | |
Highlands-Southern Fall | present | naturalised |
State |
---|
Western Australia |
Northern Territory |
South Australia |
Queensland |
New South Wales |
Australian Capital Territory |
Victoria |
Tasmania |