Introduction
Dr. JP Smith published an annotated checklist of all the plants of Oklahoma. He wrote, “My purpose is to provide a reasonably complete and up-to-date list of the vascular plants known to occur in Oklahoma.” He says “reasonable” because there might be some plants he missed, but only a few. He was very thorough.
Details
The list is considered annotated because he determined the status of the plants: N = native, E = endemic, I = introduced and naturalized; A = annual, P = perennial, S = shrub, SS = subshrub, T = tree, and V = vine. There are well over 2000 plants listed and he verified each one.
His report is long and interesting. He found numerous plants from various plant families including 20 species and subspecies of cacti. He also found lots of agave relatives.
Findings
Cacti
- Cylindropuntia davisii • thistle cholla
- Cylindropuntia imbricata var. imbricata • tree cholla
- Cylindropuntia kleiniae • candle cholla
- Cylindropuntia leptocaulis • Christmas cactus
- Echinocactus texensis • horse crippler
- Echinocereus reichenbachii ssp. baileyi • Bailey’s hedgehog cactus
- Echinocereus reichenbachii ssp. perbellus • lace hedgehog cactus
- Echinocereus reichenbachii ssp. reichenbachii • lace hedgehog cactus
- Echinocereus viridiflorus var. viridiflorus • nylon hedgehog cactus
- Escobaria missouriensis • Missouri foxtail cactus
- Escobaria vivipara var. radiosa • spiny star
- Escobaria vivipara var. vivipara • spiny star •.
- Mammillaria heyderi var. heyderi • little nipple cactus
- Opuntia cymochila • grassland prickly pear
- Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri • Texas prickly pear
- Opuntia fragilis • brittle prickly pear
- Opuntia humifusa • devil’s-tongue cactus
- Opuntia macrorhiza var. macrorhiza • twisted-spine prickly pear
- Opuntia phaeacantha • tulip prickly pear
- Opuntia polyacantha var. polyacantha • hair-spined prickly pear
Additional Reading: An Annotated Checklist of the Plants of Oklahoma
