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Prickly Pears
Opuntia
Opuntia, commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago, the Opuntia prickly pear cactus was domesticated in central Mexico. Cacti are native to the Americas, and are well adapted to arid climates; however, they are still vulnerable to alterations in precipitation and temperature driven by climate change. The plant has been introduced to Australia, southern Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.
Prickly pear alone is also used to refer to the fruit, but may also be used for the plant itself; in addition, other names given to the plant and its specific parts include tuna (fruit), sabra, sabbar, nopal (pads, plural nopales, from the Nahuatl word nōpalli), nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word nōchtli, and paddle cactus. The genus is named for the Ancient Greek city of Opus. The fruit and stems are edible. The most common culinary species is the "Barbary fig" (Opuntia ficus-indica).
60 branches of this genus, most-observed first
eastern pricklypear complex
complexOpuntia humifusa
Indian fig opuntia
speciesOpuntia ficus-indica
Plains Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia polyacantha
Engelmann Prickly Pear Complex
complexOpuntia engelmannii
Beavertail Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia basilaris
Opuntia stricta
complexOpuntia stricta
Brown-spined Pricklypear Complex
complexOpuntia phaeacantha
Nopalea
subgenusNopalea
Brittle Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia fragilis
Coastal Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia littoralis
Bunny Ears Cactus
speciesOpuntia microdasys
Armatae
sectionArmatae
Woollyjoint Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia tomentosa
Galápagos Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia galapageia
nopal tapón
speciesOpuntia robusta
Pancake Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia chlorotica
Red Prickly Pear
speciesOpuntia lasiacantha
Black-spined Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia macrocentra
Decumbent Prickly Pear
speciesOpuntia decumbens
sulphur cactus
speciesOpuntia sulphurea
Grassland Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia cymochila
Santa Rita Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia santa-rita
Opuntia streptacantha
speciesOpuntia streptacantha
Chaparral Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia oricola
Texas blue pricklypear
speciesOpuntia cacanapa
Blind Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia rufida
Arborescent Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia leucotricha
Purple Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia azurea
Golden Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia aurea
Opuntia elatior
complexOpuntia elatior
Twist-spined Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia tortispina
Velvet Bur Cactus
speciesOpuntia pubescens
Opuntia gilvescens
speciesOpuntia gilvescens
Opuntia senilis
speciesOpuntia senilis
Opuntia caracassana
speciesOpuntia caracassana
Opuntia soederstromiana
speciesOpuntia soederstromiana
Texas Plains Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia alta
Tuna Colorada
speciesOpuntia stenopetala
Opuntia semispinosa
speciesOpuntia semispinosa
Hairspine pricklypear
speciesOpuntia trichophora
Opuntia hyptiacantha
speciesOpuntia hyptiacantha
Tiger Pear
speciesOpuntia aurantiaca
Violet Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia gosseliniana
Columbia Pricklypear
hybridOpuntia × columbiana
Opuntia pilifera
speciesOpuntia pilifera
Vasey's Pricklypear
hybridOpuntia × vaseyi
Western Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia diploursina
roving pricklypear
speciesOpuntia repens
Opuntia quimilo
speciesOpuntia quimilo
Opuntia joconostle
speciesOpuntia joconostle
Opuntia caboensis
speciesOpuntia caboensis
Opuntia × demissa
hybridOpuntia × demissa
Opuntia puberula
speciesOpuntia puberula
comondu cactus
speciesOpuntia comonduensis
Opuntia jaliscana
speciesOpuntia jaliscana
Opuntia huajuapensis
speciesOpuntia huajuapensis
depressa cactus
speciesOpuntia depressa
Chisos Mountain Pricklypear
speciesOpuntia chisosensis
Opuntia cantabrigiensis
speciesOpuntia cantabrigiensis
Opuntia anacantha
speciesOpuntia anacantha
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
De rerum varietate
Cardano, Girolamo · 1557 · p.958
Hortus Eystettensis
Basilius Besler · 1640 · p.382
Commentaries on the Six Books of Dioscorides
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1560 · p.499
Commentaries on the Six Books of Dioscorides
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1560 · p.484
Commentaries on the Six Books of Dioscorides on Medical Matter
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1563 · p.470
Commentaries on the Six Books of Pedanius Dioscorides on Medical Matter
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1565 · p.466
Stirpium adversaria nova
Matthias de Lobel · 1571 · p.478
Six Groups of the History of Plants
Rembert Dodoens · 1583 · p.822
Thesaurus of Medical Things of New Spain, or History of Mexican Plants, Animals, and Minerals
Francisco Hernández; Nardo Antonio Recchi (ed.) · 1651 · p.106
Thesaurus of Medical Things of New Spain, or History of Mexican Plants, Animals, and Minerals
Francisco Hernández; Nardo Antonio Recchi (ed.) · 1651 · p.487
Treasury of Medical Matters of New Spain
Francisco Hernández · 1651 · p.121
De Indiae utriusque re naturali et medica
Willem Piso · 1658 · p.219
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Opuntia in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 47902.