Opuntiads of the USA

(by Joe Shaw and Dave Ferguson)

Mission

Opuntia Species

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

Opuntia County, Big Bend

World Opuntiads

Peru Cactus Trip

Northern Patagonia Cactus Trip

Northern Patagonia Sights

Notes from the Editors

Culture Notes

Literature

Editorial Board

News

WWW Links

Agave Photos

Opuntia gregoriana Griffiths, 1911

Herein, the authors treat Opuntia gregoriana as a version of O. engelmannii. O. gregoriana plants are large, sometimes seeming spectacular as they flow over meters of of rock and soil. But forms intermediate between O. gregoriana types and typical O. engelmannii are easily found, and the plants interbreed freely. Perhaps more field work will reveal more about the relationship between O. engelmannii and O. gregoriana.

See an a report of Opuntia gregoriana (sp. nov) (Griffiths D, Missouri Botanical Garden Annual Report, pg. 26-27, 1911); this report mentions that O. gregoriana might be considered a type of O. engelmannii. See a later report wherin O. gregoriana is briefly discussed in relation to O. engelmanii (Britton NL and Rose JN, Cactaceae, Vol. 1, 26-27, 1919). Also, view a photograph of O. gregoriana from 100 years ago (Griffiths D, Illustrated Studies of the Genus Opuntia IV, Missouri Botanical Garden Annual Report, plate 3, 1911).

What is Opuntia Gregoriana?

Dave Ferguson

Opuntia gregoriana is a semi-spineless plant found commonly in the Franklin Mountains north of El Paso, TX; it is also one of the dominant cacti found in the yards and gardens of El Paso. O. gregoriana is also abundant in the Sierra Juarez Mountains of Mexico. Similar plants are commonly found in trans-Pecos Texas, eastern Chihuahua state, and northern Coahuila state. The various far-flung populations are mostly found in mountainous areas. Each mountain region has plants with a local "look" to them. The eastern O. gregoriana (approximately from the Guadalupe Mountains to the Sierra del Carmen Mountains (Coahuila state) tend to be greener and often have spines with yellow tones.

		Opuntia gregoriana habitat, a few miles west of Hwy 285, between Artesia, NM and Carlsbad, NM
Agave lechuguilla in the foreground	Opuntia gregoriana, cultivated (apparently) along Hwy 285 in Artesia, NM	Opuntia gregoriana
Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia valida, co-occurs with O. gregoriana in various parts of southern New Mexico mountains
Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia gregoriana
	Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia gregoriana
Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia gregoriana
Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia gregoriana
Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia gregoriana
		Opuntia gregoriana
Opuntia gregoriana	Opuntia gregoriana
Opuntia gregoriana cladode with Echincereus	Opuntia orbiculata, co-occurs with O. gregoriana in multiple locations