Opuntiads of the USA

(by Joe Shaw and Dave Ferguson)

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Opuntia Country No. 1
Opuntia Country No. 2
Opuntia Country No. 3
Opuntia Country No. 4
Opuntia Country No. 5

Opuntia Country with
Daiv Freeman

Northern Patagonia Cactus Trip

Opuntia camanchica Engelm. & J.M. Bigelow 1856

Opuntia camanchica is another plant erroneously lumped into O. phaecantha. Some writers, by extension, would lump O. camanchica with numerous other legitimate species. Other treatments of the species might limit it to plants with dark spines.

Spines are usually dark-brown/black. The mostly circular cladodes and stout spines (often hatpin like) are distinct throughout its range even while spines may vary some in coloration or length. See the original description of O. camanchica in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1856.

Opuntia camanchica, Bernalillo, NM, March 2006, late winter	Close-up of plant at left	Opuntia camanchica, a few miles west of San Ysidro, NM, late winter 2006
Opuntia camanchica, red spines, late winter, near San Ysidro, NM, red spines in winter	Opuntia camanchica, Albuquerque, NM, late winter	Opuntia camanchica, Albuquerque, NM, late winter
Opuntia camanchia, May 2006, drought year, plants shriveled and collapsed like O. phaecantha, Placitas, NM	Opuntia camanchica, Coors Rd., Albuquerque, NM, May 2006, drought year	Opuntia species, Placitas, NM
Opuntia camanchica , Placitas, NM, May 2006, drought year, plants collapsed and not semi-upright as would be expcected.	Opuntia camanchica , Placitas, NM, May 2006	Opuntia camanchica, Placitas, NM, May 2006
Opuntia camanchica, Placitas, NM, May 2006	Opuntia camanchica, Placitas, NM, May 2006	Opuntia camanchica, Placitas, NM, May 2006
	Opuntia camanchica, Albuquerque, NM, river bottom near Atrisco St.	Opuntia camanchica, Albuquerque, NM, river bottom near Atrisco St.
Images below were added after February 1, 2008
Opuntia camanchica, mountains west of Roswell, NM, May 2006	Close-up of plant at left; the spines are shorther than normal but still stout	Opuntia camanchica
Opuntia camanchica	Opuntia camanchica	Opuntia camanchica (right), plant at left may be O. camanchica, late winter
Opuntia camanchica	Opuntia camanchica	Opuntia camanchica
Opuntia camanchica, close-up of image in row above, far right	Opuntia camanchica, March 2006, Cibola National Forest, 10-15 miles northeast of downtown Albuquerque, NM, in late winter snow	Opuntia camanchica (looking like O. phaecantha) with Nolina sp, Cibola National Forest near Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia camanchica, Cibola National Forest	Opuntia camanchica (or O. phaecantha)	Opuntia camanchica, late winter, drought year, Placitas, NM
Opuntia camanchica, branches from three different plants; some cladodes are not precisely circular but there is no mistaking the stout spines	Close-up of center-top cladode from group at left (near Placitas, NM)	Opuntia camanchica
Opuntia camanchica (right), possibly O. dulcis on left, late winter, NM	Opuntia camanchica	Close-up of plant at left, showing long red spines
Opuntia phaecantha, with stout spines, can be confused with O. camanchica (see O. phaecantha page)	Opuntia camanchica, placitas, NM, March 2006	Opuntia camanchica, Placitas, NM
Opuntia camanchica	close-up of plant at left	Opuntia camanchica
Opuntia camanchica, Belen, NM, March 2006 (late winter)	Opuntia camanchica, west of Carrizozo, NM, May, 2006	Close-up of plant at immediate left
Opuntia camanchica, southwest of Artesia, NM, late May, drought year	Close-up of plant at left	Close-up of plant at far left
Opuntia camanchica, southwest of Artesia, NM, late May, drought year	Opuntia camanchica, Conchas Lake State Park, near dam, NM, May 2006	Close-up of plant at immediate left
Opuntia camanchica, Conchas Lake State Park, NM, May 2006	Close-up of plant at left	Close-up of plant at far left
Opuntia camanchica, near Del Rio, TX	Close-up of plant at left	Close-up of plant at far left