Consolea corallicola

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Species of cactus

title: "Consolea corallicola" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["opuntioideae", "endemic-flora-of-florida", "plants-described-in-1930", "esa-endangered-species"] description: "Species of cactus" topic_path: "general/opuntioideae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolea_corallicola" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of cactus ::

|image = Consolea corallicola.jpg |status = CR |status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref = |status2 = G1 |status2_system = TNC |status2_ref = |genus = Consolea |species = corallicola |authority = Small |synonyms = Opuntia corallicola

Consolea corallicola is a species of cactus known by the common names Florida semaphore cactus and semaphore pricklypear. It is endemic to Florida in the United States, where it is limited to the Florida Keys.

Description

This cactus is a species of tree which grows up to 8 feet tall. The stem segments are up to 40 centimeters long and are "copiously armed" with pink spines which can exceed 12 centimeters in length. The spines on the trunk all point downward and are the largest spines on the plant. The flowers, which have a scent reminiscent of rotting meat, have fleshy outer tepals and red-colored inner tepals that reach 2.5 centimeters in length. Flowering occurs year-round, with a peak season in December through April. This cactus is colonial, forming colonies of "trunked" plants and several "pups". This species' common name refers to its resemblance to railway semaphore signals.

Distribution

It has been extirpated from several of the Keys,

Habitat and ecology

The habitat for this species is bare rock with thin pockets of humus located in hardwood hammocks or the ecotone between hammock and mangrove habitat. The substrate is Key Largo limestone with a covering of sand. The habitat is near sea level. Associated species include Sporobolus virginicus, Conocarpus erectus, Maytenus phyllanthoides, Manilkara bahamensis, Hippomane mancinella, and Opuntia stricta var. dillenii.

Conservation

This "is an extremely rare species" It is also threatened by hurricane activity and sea-level rise, which can affect it because it lives near sea level. It has trouble reproducing because one population is all male and can only reproduce vegetatively. It is also suffering from a rot disease. Other threats include scale insects, poaching and habitat destruction and degradation.

Consolea corallicola was listed as a federally endangered species in 2013 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 along with Chromolaena frustrata and Harrisia aboriginum, two other plant species of South Florida. It was noted in the listing that only two wild populations of this species remain, and that the majority of plants reintroduced to natural habitats between 1996 and 2004 did not survive while the survivors were stunted. Plants reintroduced to one state-owned site had been accidentally destroyed during a trail expansion. Another site of reintroduction was eliminated by salt water exposure from extremes of tidal variation. Reintroductions have also faced challenges from Cactoblastis activity, crown rot associated with Fusarium oxysporum and possibly a Phomopsis sp. and leaf litter burying plantings. By contrast, captive plants flourish. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, none of the remaining wild populations contain female individuals and are thus reliant on asexual reproduction. Sea level rise threatens the remaining habitat of C. corallicola, causing saltwater intrusion into groundwater. Poaching is a significant threat in the short term.

References

References

  1. Negrón-Ortiz, V., Griffith, P. & Maschinski, J. 2013. Consolea corallicola. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T16329591A16329597. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T16329591A16329597.en. Accessed on 24 March 2022.
  2. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0".
  3. link. (2010-12-15 Center for Plant Conservation.)
  4. [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242415229 ''Consolea corallicola''.] Flora of North America.
  5. [https://archive.today/20130415120220/http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Opuntia+corallicola ''Opuntia corallicola''.] The Nature Conservancy. October 2012. Archived on 15 April 2013.
  6. Negrón-Ortiz, V.. (2013). "''Consolea corallicola''".
  7. invasive]], [[introduced species
  8. South Florida Ecological Services Office. (24 October 2013}} {{Federal Register). "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Chromolaena frustrata (Cape Sable Thoroughwort), Consolea corallicola (Florida Semaphore Cactus), and Harrisia aboriginum (Aboriginal Prickly-Apple)". Federal Register.

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opuntioideaeendemic-flora-of-floridaplants-described-in-1930esa-endangered-species