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Opuntia charlestonensis Clokey  

Copyright Dave Ferguson and Joe Shaw, 2006.

Opuntia charlestonensis is relatively common in certain areas around Mt. Chareston, NV. These plants were photographed at about 7,000 ft near the intersection of Highway 158 and Highway 157, on the east side Charleston Peak and northwest of Las Vegas, NV. The plants grow among pinyon (pinon) pine, junipers, and manzanita in rocky or gravely soils that were level or modestly sloping. .

O. charleston is apparently the same species as O. tortispina, possibly a locally-isolated population of O. tortispina. However, O. charestonensis is a homogenous group of plants, and not nearly so variable as O. torispina can be in New Mexico and Texas. As far as the authors know, the closest other populations of O. tortispina are many miles away in north-central Arizona.

O. charlestonensis is larger than some O. tortispina specimens from other locations but not overly large for O. tortispina in general. The spines are generally pale (cream-white or pale yellow-white), brown spines or bases are generally not found.