Opuntiads of the USA

Opuntia debreczyi Szutorisz

Dave Ferguson writes about Opuntia debreczyi:

"It may have O. fragilis and O. polyacantha var. rhodantha in its ancestry, but it behaves as a species in habitat. It grows from southwest Wyoming across western Colorado and east Utah, barely into northease AZ and northwest NM (rather rare in both states).

It tends to grow mostly on open sloping ground in upland areas above the lower deserts (lower down in the north than in the south), where it is often found with Opuntia trichophora, Opuntia polyacantha varieties. It may sometimes occur with Opuntia fragilis, Opuntia zuniensis, Pediocactus simpsonii, Sclerocactus parviflorus, and Escobaria vivipara, etc. It is often found in pure stands with no other species of Opuntia nearby.

It is highly variable in spination (from nearly spineless to quite spiny). Spines are stouter than in O. fragilis. Joints vary in shape and size, but are generally larger than O. fragilis, and often quite a lot larger. Flattened joints are common. As in O. fragilis the joints separate easily, but not as easily, and when not turgid they are often more firmly attached than when turgid. The flowers are larger than those in Opuntia fragilis (usually over 2 inches across, often as much as 3 inches). Flower color can be anything from yellow to magenta, with light yellow and red in center, or pink. Some populations may be of mixed colors, but other populations are single colored.

Opuntia debreczyi, photo by Martin Ravn Tversted of Northern Nursery

Opuntia debreczy cultivated
outdoors in Hungary, issued from the original material given by Mrs. Heacock (Denver, Colorado, USA) to Dr. Zsolt Debreczy, curator of the
"Herbarium Generale" collection of the Botanical Department of the Hungarian
Natural History Museum in the year 1973. The species was described from this material, photo by Janos Bodor.