Opuntiads of the USA

Opuntia alta Griffiths

Opuntia alta plants are large, with some plants up to 4 m in height (or more). It forms a tree-like plant with one or more trunks. It is poorly reported in the literature. It is found infrequenly in the Corpus Christi region of Texas and inland to at least Mathis, TX. It is not uncommon along the Rio Grande River where it grows with other trees, Opuntia. The originial description of O. alta is available.

Other large Opuntia are reported for south Texas and adjacent Mexico, but are poorly understood by the authors of this Website. These plants include O. gomei, O. laxifora, and O. cuija. Additionally, O. orbiculata and O. cacanapa may occur in south Texas. O. orbiculata is know to occur in Uvalde, TX, only 100 miles north of Nuevo Laredo, TX.

Very large plants of O. lindheimeri could be misidentified as O. alta; however, O. alta is typically much larger and more upright than O. lindheimeri, and O. alta has yellow stigmas, rather than they typically green stigmas of O. lindheimeri.

One O. alta plant grown from material collected near Laredo, TX, survives outdoors in a protected situation at the Rio Grande Botantic Garden in Albuquerue, NM (with some frost damage in cold years).

Opuntia alta, cultivated from plant material collected at Rio Grande City, TX

Opuntia alta, Mathix, TX

Probable Opuntia alta, collapsed, Mathis, TX

Close-up of Opuntia alta, Mathix, TX

Opuntia alta, Rio Grande City, TX

New cladodes of Opuntia lindheimeri (left) and O. alta (right), leaves are recurved in O. alta (Rio Grande City, TX)

Possible Opuntia alta , Rio Grande City, TX

Possible Opuntia alta in background, unidentified (shorter) Opuntia sp in foreground, Rio Grande City, TX

Cultivated Opuntia alta, original material collected at Rio Grande City, TX, from plant nearly 4 m tall; overall the ovary is more globose than than in O. lindheimeri, but thinning of the base is apparent

Cultivated Opuntia alta, original material collected near Nuevo Laredo, TX

Culivated Opuntia alta, original material collected near Nuevo Laredo, TX (specimen grows in Albuquerque, NM in a protected location)

Cultivated Opuntia alta, original material collected at Mathix, TX; the ovary is more nearly globose that in the image immediately above

Opuntia alta, Rio Grande Botanic Garden, Albuquerque, NM , growing in a protected location

Close-up of plant at left

Close-up of plant at immediate left, note the strongly recurved leaves on the new growth

Unidentified large Opuntia, Mathis, TX, plants observed growing along fence line, definite strong trunk and branches

Unidentified large Opuntia (possibly O. gomei), Mathis, TX, growing with plants in row immediately above

Unidentified large Opuntia (possibly O. gomei), growing with O. lindheimeri and O. alta (Lake Corpus Christi, near Mathis, TX); the plant was very large and had collapsed upon itself