SEEDLING DEVELOPMENT OF OPUNTIA BRADTIANA (CACTACEAE)

Seedling development in Opuntia bradtiana, a north-central Mexican endemic, is similar to that of other opuntias, except for the absence of glochids and the fact that germination is extremely slow and germination percentage low. Hypocotyl and root elongation and epicotyl development are rapid for two weeks after rupture of the seed coat. However at this point hypocotyl elongation nearly ceases, while stem and root development continue at a reduced rate. An eight-month seedling is usually not more than 25 mm tall but has numerous areoles with spines and occasionally one subtending leaf. At this time tubercles have begun to coalesce into the vertical rows of ribs characteristic of the section Grusonia.