Opuntia sp nova aff camanchica is an undescribed prickly pear cactus that occurs in the area of greater Albuquerque, New Mexico, including adjacent portions of Cibola National Forest. It may be found from 1650 m to 2000 m, but its altitudinal range may be greater. Similarly it may extend much beyond the Albuquerque area, but this is not known. The prickly pear plants are semi-woody (stiff), and inspection suggests an affinity with O.camanchica though this Opuntia is smaller.
This is just one of many, presumed, undescribed Opuntia taxa in the United states.
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM, Hayes Jackson
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM, Hayes Jackson
Opuntiachisosensis is a prickly pear cactus that grows in the Big Bend region of Texas and adjacent Mexico where it occurs at higher elevations in wooded areas. At one time it was considered to be a variety of O.lindheimeri.
Details
From Powell and Weedin:
O.chisosensis is a medium-sized (to 1 m tall) prickly pear cactus. Ascending branches extend from a thick base. Cladodes are bluish-gray to green and circular to broadly obovate. There are 1-5 spines per areole in this Opuntia, spreading or deflexed, yellow to orange, tipped yellow (upper portion of plant), darkening with age, or dark red-brown (lower portion of plant). The spines are more or less acicular, 2 to 6 cm, terete or flattened near the base, and often curved. Spines generally occur in the upper portions of the cladodes. Glochids may partly encircle the areoles and are also in a poorly formed apical tuft.
Flowers on this Opuntia are 5-7 cm wide and yellowish or yellow-buff. The stigma is green or yellow-green above a yellow style; filaments are pale green. Pericarpel areoles are small and distant. Fruits are conspicuously small, especially when compared to other species in the Chisos Mountains. Fruits are reddish purple, ellipsoid to spherical, barrel-shaped, approximately 40 × 45 mm, juicy, with little tapering at the base (or not at all). Fruit areoles are spineless and clustered near the apex. Seeds are yellow to tan and approximately 4 × 3.5 mm. The protruding girdle is about 1 mm.
Ploidy is unknown.
Other Notes
This medium-sized prickly pear has attractive yellow spines. However, older spines may be brownish red. Overall, due to its stature and coloration it is an attractive garden plant. Moreover, it is cold-hardy due to its mountain origins.
Opuntia chisosensis, Dave Van Langen
Opuntia chisosensis, elevation 6500 ft, Big Bend, photographer unknown
Opuntia chisosensis, lower elevation than usual, Big Bend, photographer unknown
Opuntia chisosensis, Northern Nursery
Opuntia chisosensis, Northern Nursery
Opuntia chisosensis, Rio Grande Botanical Garden, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia chisosensis, Rio Grande Botanical Garden, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia chisosensis, Rio Grande Botanical Garden, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntiacespitosa is a prickly pear in the O.humifusa group of cacti (O.humifusa s.l.). O.cespitosa resembles O.humifusa and has long been overlooked by botanists because it was considered synonymous with that species. O.cespitosa also has similarities with the western species, O.macrorhiza.
Details
O.cespitosa cladodes generally appear glaucous-gray. Cladodes have 0-2 spines that are either both erect or both deflexed. Only centrals are produced. O.cespitosa does not have strongly retrorsely-barbed spines, which are common in the related O.mesacantha. The spines of O.cespitosa place it in contrast with O.humifusa, which lacks spines. Typically, the chains of cladodes are parallel to the ground surface. As with related plants (i.e., O.humifusa s.l.), the cladodes become wrinkled in fall.
O.cespitosa has yellow flowers with red centers. Filaments are yellow and anthers are pale. The style is white and the stigma is white or pale yellow. The fruit is clavate.
O.cespitosa is tetraploid.
Other Notes
O.cespitosa is the most common Opuntia species in the eastern states though it has traditionally been subsumed into O.humifusa and was not noticed. It is present in multiple eastern, southern, and midwestern states including AL, AR, CT, GA, IL, IN, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NY, OH, VA and WV. It is the only Opuntia that occurs in eastern Canada (far southern Ontario). Recent work by Paul D. Adanick shows that this Opuntia occurs in many locations in TN and KY but that it may not be numerous at any specific location. It is often found in rocky situations but also occurs in dry soils.
Vegetatively, it is most similar to Opuntiamesacantha ssp. mesacantha, from which this allopolyploid may be partially derived, although floral features are quite different, and O.cespitosa does not have the strongly retrorsely-barbed spines common in O.mesacantha. This species also can be confused with certain forms of O.macrorhiza, another putative parent of O.cespitosa; both species have yellow inner tepals basally tinged red adaxially.
Opuntia cespitosa flower, Pigeon Mt., Walker Co. GA, Paul Adanik
Opuntia cespitosa fruit, Salvisa, KY, Paul Adanick
Opuntia cespitosa, AL rock outcrop, Hayes Jackson (garden plant)
Opuntia cespitosa, AL rock outcrop, Hayes Jackson (garden plant)
Opuntia cespitosa, AL rock outcrop, Hayes Jackson (garden plant)
Opuntia cespitosa, Alabama
Opuntia cespitosa, Alabama
Opuntia cespitosa, Cedars of Lebanon State Park, TN, Paul Adanick
Opuntia cespitosa, Cedars of Lebanon State Park, TN, Paul Adanick
Opuntia cespitosa, Cedars of Lebanon State Park, TN, Paul Adanick
Opuntia cespitosa, Cedars of Lebanon State Park, TN, Paul Adanick
Opuntia cespitosa, Cedars of Lebanon State Park, TN, Paul Adanick
Opuntia cespitosa, Cedars of Lebanon State Park, TN, Paul Adanick
Opuntia cespitosa, Cedars of Lebanon State Park, TN, Paul Adanick
Opuntia cespitosa, companion moss, TN
Opuntia cespitosa, cultivated plant in Ohio cemetery, Kevin Rowland
Opuntia cespitosa, cultivated plant in Ohio cemetery, Kevin Rowland
Opuntia cespitosa, cultivated plant in Ohio cemetery, Kevin Rowland
Opuntia cespitosa, Fayette Co, KY, Kevin Rowland
Opuntia cespitosa, Fayette County, KY-with Sedum puchellum, Kevin Rowland
Opuntia cespitosa, Fayette County, KY-with sedum puchellum
Opuntiazuniensis is a handsome, prickly pear cactus found in Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah, and perhaps southwestern Colorado. It has been lumped together with O.phaeacantha, O.tortispina, or O.camanchica.
Details
O.zuniensis branches are prostrate on plants that may be 25-30 cm tall and up to 1 m across. Cladodes recline on their edges. Sometimes, a pad will rise above the others. Cladodes are obovate, oval, or rhomboid and may be acute at both ends. Mature cladodes may reach 10-12 cm across and up to 25 cm long. Areoles are often a 1 cm apart or a bit more on mature cladodes. Spines are white(ish) but can be straw-yellow on the apex of new growth. There are up to 6 spines at the apex of new growth, and one or more may be 2 inches long. Over time the apex spines may reach 3 inches in length. The plant often develops a shaggy look due to its numerous, long spines.
Flowers are generally medium or light yellow without red, but may become light orangish late in the day or on day two. The fruit is light, dull red. The rind is greenish and the pulp is colorless.
Ploidy is unknown.
Other Notes
O.zuniensis is usually found growing on sandy soils of grasslands or pinon-juniper woodlands; sometimes it is found in the in Navajoan Desert. If it is growing on slopes or in rocky areas, it will usually grow in pockets of sandy soil. O.zuniensis is a monotypic species; it is not as variable as other Opuntia of similar size. Rarely, the flowers of O.zuniensis are light orange instead of light yellow. Also uncommonly, the bases of the white spines may darken slightly. Overall, O.zuniensis has a shaggy look due to its spines. O.zuniensis often blooms 2- to 3-weeks later than O.polyacantha.
O.zuniensis is an excellent garden plant due to its small size and shaggy, spiny look. Also, its bloom time extends the season.
Opuntia zuniensis
Opuntia zuniensis
Opuntia zuniensis
Opuntia zuniensis
Opuntia zuniensis
Opuntia zuniensis
Opuntia zuniensis
Opuntia zuniensis
Opuntia zuniensis
Opuntia zuniensis (R), with O. tortispina, Santa Cruz, NM
Opuntia zuniensis, close-up of fruit
Opuntia zuniensis, close-up of spines
Opuntia zuniensis, Dowa Yalanne Mesa, near Zuni, NM, Darin Mahkee
Opuntia zuniensis, Dowa Yalanne Mesa, near Zuni, NM, Darin Mahkee
Opuntiavalida is a handsome prickly pear cactus found in New Mexico, West Texas, and perhaps Arizona. The spination, areoles, and habit of this cactus are distinctive.
Details
O.valida is an erect to ascending, widely radiating branched species, with main limbs ascending or horizontal, and sometimes resting on edge under cultivation, but mostly erect to ascending in natural habitat. Majure plants may be 1 m in height and 2 m wide. The cladodes are obovate [sometimes elongate], large, thick, glaucous, slightly blue-green, very broadly pointed or rounded above, commonly 25 by 32 cm or again 25 by 27 cm. Cladodes may be larger on cultivated plants. Areoles are large and ovate, up to 8 mm. The areoles of this Opuntia are brown when new but darken with age. The glochids are scattered throughout the entire areoles with age, but they may be on the upper part in new growth. Glochids are not numerous. Spines (2-5) diverge in all directions.
Flowers are yellow, fruit is slender.
Ploidy is unknown.
Other Notes
O.valida usually may have more elongate pads than O.engelmannii, sometimes rhomboid, especially in New Mexico and Texas specimens. In Arizona pads may be wide obovate and not particularly elongate. Central spines are more prominent in O.valida than O.engelmannii, up to 3 cm long. O.valida seldom (never?) has radials flat against the pad surface. Older O.valida stems become more spiny in age as happens with O.chloroticachlorotica. Fruit is more slender and typically ripens sooner in O.valida than O.engelmannii. Spines are almost always cream-colored in O.valida with dark chocolate base; they are more uniform than in the Engelmann Opuntia. See a table comparing O.engelmannii with O.valida.
Opuntia valida
Opuntia valida
Opuntia valida
Opuntia valida
Opuntia valida
Opuntia valida spines, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia valida, Artesia, NM
Opuntia valida, Artesia, NM
Opuntia valida, Artesia, NM
Opuntia valida, Artesia, NM
Opuntia valida, Artesia, NM
Opuntia valida, Artesia, NM
Opuntia valida, base of spines is pink, garden plant
Opuntia valida, base of spines is pink, garden plant
Opuntia valida, base of spines is pink, garden plant
Opuntia valida, base of spines is pink, garden plant
Opuntia valida, Carlsbad, NM
Opuntia valida, Carlsbad, NM
Opuntia valida, Carlsbad, NM
Opuntia valida, Carlsbad, NM
Opuntia valida, fruit
Opuntia valida, fruit
Opuntia valida, fruit and seeds, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia valida, garden plant, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia valida, garden plant, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia valida, garden plant, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia valida, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia valida, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia valida, near San Ysidro, NM
Opuntia valida, Rio Grande Botanical Garde, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia valida, Rio Grande Botanical Garde, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia valida, spines, Artesia, NM
Opuntia valida-like, Kingman, AZ
Opuntia valida-like, Kingman, AZ
Opuntia valida-like, Tonono Chul Park, Tucson, AZ
Opuntia valida-like, Wallace Desert Gardens, Scottsdale, AZ
This undescribed prickly pear cactus occurs in northern New Mexico. It has similarities with Opuntiamacrorhiza. However, the flowers have no red in them and the stigma is bright green.
Opuntiatrichophora is a prickly pear cactus that has been treated as a variety of O.polyacantha. Herein we treat it as a stand-alone species of prickly pear because of its unique differences from O.polyacantha.
Details
From Powell and Weedin:
The pads of this Opuntia are variously shaped: broadly ovate, orbiculate, obovate to narrowly obovate and flat. The pads are often 7-13 cm long and 5.5-11 cm in diameter and about 1 cm thick, but smaller pads occur. The areoles are close together: 0.6-1.3 cm apart. Spines are present in almost all of the areoles. The areoles on this prickly pear are closely spaced with about a dozen slender spines (6-17). The longest spines may be hairlike and 4-8 cm long. The other spines are 1-3 cm long and are often appressed. The longer spines are typically pale.
Flowers of this Opuntia are yellow, 4-7 cm long and 4-5 cm wide, but smaller flowers may be produced. The filaments are often pale or barely green-tinted to cream-colored or even pale yellow. They style is cream to pinkish and about 2 cm long and only slightly bulbous at the base. The 8 stigma lobes are 3 mm long and dark green. The slender pericarpel has spiny or hairy areoles. The fruits are dry and smallish, very spiny at maturity. The fruits are obconic or nearly so and 1.9 to 2.5 cm long with many areoles. The umbilicus may be up to 8 mm deep. There are few (8-10) large seeds per fruit, irregularly discoid, 6-6.8 mm in maximum diameter, 1.5-2 mm thick, with a beaked margin 1-2 mm wide.
O.trichophora is diploid.
Other Notes
O.trichophora is similar in overall appearance to O.diploursina. Both may have spines that are very slender and flexible, forming long hairs and areoles that are close together. Some plants may not have long hair-like spines and can have a wooly appearance with many short spines.
Some individuals may have slender spines longer than 14 cm. Sometimes the hair-like spines are located only on the underside of the plant, are few in number, and are early deciduous. Occasionally plants have no discernible long hairs. The smallish pads are frequently obscured by the presence of many spines.
O.trichophora often grows on hot rocky slopes or cliff faces in mountainous or otherwise dissected terrain, but it can grow on gypsum soils or even sandy soils in grasslands or pinon-juniper woodlands. Some populations grow in baking hot conditions (e.g., on south- or southwest-facing sunny basalt cliffs). O.trichophora grows above 3000 ft and often grows at 5000-7000 ft. It has been anecdotally reported at 9000 ft.
This Opuntia occurs throughout much of Colorado Plateau and north into Wyoming along Flaming Gorge. It may be observed east of the central mountains of Utah, on the western side of Colorado, in northern Arizona, in most of New Mexico west of the Great Plains, in trans-Pecos Texas, and Chihuahua, Mexico.
O. trichophora, NM
O. trichophora, NM
O. trichophora, on basalt rocks, north of Espanola, NM
O. trichophora, on basalt rocks, north of Espanola, NM
O. trichophora, on basalt rocks, north of Espanola, NM
O. trichophora, on basalt rocks, north of Espanola, NM
O. trichophora, on basalt rocks, north of Espanola, NM
O. trichophora, on basalt rocks, north of Espanola, NM
Opuntia trichophora, 50 miles NW Blanding UT, Joseph Simcox
Opuntia trichophora, 50 miles NW Blanding UT, Joseph Simcox
Opuntia trichophora, 9,000 ft altitude,Jeff Thompson
Opuntia trichophora, Bandelier National Monument, with ponderosa pines, NM, Beth Boyd
Opuntia trichophora, east of Moab, UT
Opuntia trichophora, east of Moab, UT
Opuntia trichophora, east of Moab, UT
Opuntia trichophora, east of Moab, UT
Opuntia trichophora, east of Moab, UT
Opuntia trichophora, east of Natural Bridges, UT
Opuntia trichophora, east of Natural Bridges, UT
Opuntia trichophora, Manzanos Mts, NM
Opuntia trichophora, Manzanos Mts, NM
Opuntia trichophora, Manzanos Mts, NM
Opuntia trichophora, Manzanos Mts, NM
Opuntia trichophora, Manzanos Mts, NM
Opuntia trichophora, Manzanos Mts, NM
Opuntia trichophora, Manzanos Mts, NM
Opuntia trichophora, north of Espanola, NM
Opuntia trichophora, north of Espanola, NM
Opuntia trichophora, northeastern La Sal Mts, UT
Opuntia trichophora, Rio Grande Botanical Garden, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia trichophora, Santa Fe National Forest, NM
Opuntia trichophora, Santa Fe National Forest, NM
Opuntia trichophora, Santa Fe National Forest, NM
Opuntia trichophora, Santa Fe National Forest, NM
Opuntia trichophora, with C. imbricata, Santa Fe National Forest, NM
Opuntiapyrocarpa is a commonly encountered prickly pear cactus in south central to north-central Texas where it often grows in deep, limestone-derived soils. It is found in Mexico and perhaps Oklahoma, and it may be in other parts of Texas.
Details
O.pyrocarpa is an ascending spreading plant to 1 m tall. Often the main branches of this prickly pear cactus are prostrate but ascend at the ends. The cladodes are large, approximately 25(30) × 15(20) cm, or they may be smaller in some plants. The cladodes may be constricted at the base to form a short neck, or this feature may be lacking. The spines are porrect in new cladodes, but often slope down with age. Spines are present on the upper 50% to 60% of the areoles and are yellow darkening to a brown base. Spines are 2 to 3 cm long.
The flowers are yellow with light-red centers or pure yellow. This Opuntia has a white style tipped with a light-green stigma. The petals are irregularly cleft or even nearly bifurcated. The fruit is long, pyriform, and various shades of carmine, often with a purplish tinge outside and inside.
Ploidy is unknown.
Other Notes
O.pyrocarpa may form large plants that create piles of cladodes spread over 6-8 feet, making up for lack of height by achieving breadth. Or prostrate ascending branches by reach upwards to 100 cm. Several large plants growing together can create a formidable thicket. The species occurs with others found in Texas such as O.lindheimeri, O.macrorhiza, and O.orbiculata, etc. The type location is Marble Falls, Texas.
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Ed Utley
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Ed Utley
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Ed Utley
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Ed Utley
Opuntia pyrocarpa, garden plant, OK City, Derrill Pope
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Lake Travis, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Lake Travis, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Lake Travis, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Lake Travis, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Lake Travis, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Lake Travis, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Lake Travis, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, near Abilene, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, near Austin, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, near Austin, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, near Austin, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, near Austin, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, near Austin, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, near Austin, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, northern central TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, northern Texas
Opuntia pyrocarpa, northern Texas
Opuntia pyrocarpa, northern Texas
Opuntia pyrocarpa, northern Texas
Opuntia pyrocarpa, northern TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, northwest of Ft. Worth, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, northwest of Ft. Worth, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, northwest of Ft. Worth, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, northwest of Ft. Worth, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Pace Bend Park, TX
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Parker County, TX, Ron Beerer
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Parker County, TX, Ron Beerer
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Parker County, TX, Ron Beerer
Opuntia pyrocarpa, Parker County, TX, Ron Beerer
Opuntia pyrocarpa, possible hybrid with O. lindheimeri, Lake Travis, TX
Opuntiapolyacantha is a variable prickly pear cactus ranging from Mexico near California, to Texas, to the Rocky Mountain states and the Great Plains, and north into Alberta and Saskatchewan. This prickly pear cactus has even been observed in dry areas in Minnesota and Missouri. This Opuntia is more much more widely spread than the ubiquitous O.phaeacantha.
Details
Opuntiapolyacantha
We recognize 7 varieties of this prickly pear cactus. Not all have been formally described as varieties (e.g., O.polyacantharhodantha is cited as a stand-alone species), but they represent our concept of the species. Nonetheless, the taxonomy of this Opuntia is complicated, and there are many expressions of O.polyacantha. Some do not fit precisely into the 7 varieties described here. It is possible that new taxa will be recognized within the currently broad concept of the taxon. Alternately, some varieties may some day be condensed with others. Fruits are dry at maturity; flowers are often yellow but may be orange, pink, or magenta. Seeds are large. Read the original description. O.polyacantha is tetraploid, but perhaps one or more other ploidies are represented in this large and diverse group of prickly pears.
Other species have been treated as varieties of O.polyacantha including O.nicholii and O.trichophora (see Powell and Weedin). But these are treated as separate species herein because they are hexaploid or diploid, respectively and because they are don’t intergreade with the varieties described here.
Opuntiapolyacanthaerinacea has areoles that are usually large and relatively close together. The cladodes are typically very thick and often elongate. The plants tend to form upright clumps. They have many spines, usually mostly slender and terete. The spines can be stiff or hair-like, even on the same plant (some eastern populations of this prickly pear cactus have mostly plants with very thick stiff relatively short spines). The spines of this prickly pear cactus vary in color but are often light. The fruit is usually more elongate than in var polyacantha and often reddish when initially ripe (but soon fading to brown or tan as they dry). O.polyacanthaerinacea is found in rocky areas (occasionally sandy areas) in the Mojave Desert and on hot rocky south slopes in the Great Basin Desert north almost to (or perhaps into) Idaho. It grows in hotter areas of canyons up the Colorado and San Juan Rivers into southern Utah and almost to the Four Corners in Arizona (it was mostly behind dam building and populations were destroy by reservoirs). This Opuntia variety grows in southeastern California, Nevada, northern Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. Plants at high elevations in the Mojave Desert and southern California sometimes spread more than typical plants and sometimes are nearly spineless, whereas some plants at lower elevations may have enough spines to visually obscure the stem. Some botanists consider O.polyacantha var erinacea to be a separate cactus species, but we treat it as a variety of O.polyacantha herein, especially because it intergrades with, and readily interbreeds with, the other varieties.
Opuntia erinacea, Ruud Waterson
Opuntia polyacantha erinacea, 6000 ft
Opuntia polyacantha erinacea, Jane, NV
Opuntia polyacantha erinacea, Jane, NV
Opuntia polyacantha erinacea, North Rim Grand Canyon, AZ
Opuntia polyacantha erinaceae, 4000 ft, near Las Vegas, NV
Opupntia polyacantha erinacea, central eastern NV, Daiv Freeman
Opupntia polyacantha erinacea, Golden Valley, AZ
Opupntia polyacantha erinacea, Joshua Tree National Park, CA
Opupntia polyacantha erinacea, near Jean, NV
Opupntia polyacantha erinacea, White Mts, CA, Daiv Freeman
Opuntiapolyacanthahystricina is very much like var erinacea, but the joints of this Opuntia are usually not so thick, and the plants are broader, lower, and more openly spreading in habit (as is the case for most O.polyacantha varieties). This prickly pear cactus is found in areas with at least a modicum of summer rainfall in cold winter deserts and in grasslands from eastern Nevada and southwestern Utah to southwestern Colorado, central New Mexico, and across most of northern Arizona.
Opuntia polyacantha hystricina
Opuntia polyacantha hystricina
Opuntia polyacantha hystricina
Opuntia polyacantha hystricina
Opuntia polyacantha hystricina
Opuntia polyacantha hystricina
Opuntia polyacantha hystricina, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia polyacantha hystricina, fruit, Santa Fe Trail, NM
Opuntia polyacantha hystricina, Santa Fe Trail, NM
Opuntia polyacantha hystricina, Santa Fe Trail, NM
Opuntiapolyacanthajuniperina is much like var polyacantha in many traits, but it has much fewer spines that are confined to the upper areoles or which may be nearly completely absent. The lower areoles of this Opuntia may have only one or two tiny spines or no spines. The fruit is often spineless or nearly so. This prickly pear cactus is found in mountainous areas of the Colorado Plateaus and Southern Rocky Mountains, but it is rare in the Front Range region. It is found in southern Wyoming, Colorado, eastern Utah, northern Arizona, and northern and central New Mexico. Similar groups of plants are scattered into Idaho and north into northern Wyoming and in the Black Hills as well as the higher plateaus and mountain country of northern Arizona. It is replaced to the west by var utahensis (the division is the north-south trending, central high plateaus and mountains of Utah). It usually grows in open conifer woodland, mountain scrub, or in areas of sagebrush.
Opuntia polyacantha juniperina, Gateway, CO
Opuntia polyacantha juniperina, Sandia Mts, NM
Opuntia polyacantha juniperina, Sandia Mts, NM
Opuntia polyacantha juniperina, southwest of Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia polyacantha juniperina, Timberline Gardens, Wheat Ridge, CO
Opuntiapolyacanthapolyacantha forms a low spreading prickly pear cactus and usually has roundish pads (shape varies somewhat). The areoles are small and close together in this Opuntia. The spines are numerous with one stout, terete central spine that is is often 2 to 2.5 cm long (occasionally another one or two centrals may be present that are likely to be flattened). Several (to many) smaller spines radiate around the central central. Spine color is highly varied and has been the basis for several of synonymous names. Fruit of this prickly pear cactus tends to be roundish with short stout spines. It grows mostly in grasslands but occasionally into scrub and woodlands in mountains. It is found on the Great Plains and in the Rockies, from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Minnesota southward to central New Mexico, and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma. This Opuntia has been reported IA and MO. It also occurs in southern Idaho and eastern Utah. Similar plants grow in the Columbia Basin between the Blue Mountains and southern British Columbia that seem to represent this variety too; these may be westward continuations of populations in Idaho and Montana.
Opuntia polyacantha polyacantha, Daiv Freeman
Opuntia polyacantha polyacantha, NE, Daiv Freeman
Opuntia polyacantha polyacantha, near Devil's Tower, WY, Daiv Freeman
Opuntiapolyacantharhodantha has not been formally described as a variety of the O.polyacantha prickly pear cactus, but we treat it as one herein. It has areoles that are large and relatively far apart. Stem segments are usually very thick and may be elongate; they are generally “lumpy” because the areoles are prominent. Generally, cladodes are dark- or dull-waxy green. The spines of this Opuntia variety are stout, varied in color, and have annulate markings. The fruit has prominent (sometimes elevated) areoles that are relatively far apart, usually with stout short spines (but sometimes nearly spineless). This Opuntia is found mostly in desert in northern halves of Colorado Plateaus and Great Basin, lapping into Southern Rockies, Snake River Plains and Wyoming Basin. It also grows in Utah, western Colorado, southwestern Wyoming, southern Idaho, southeastern Oregon, and parts of eastern Nevada.
Opuntia pollyacantha rhodantha, 'Chelsea Yellow.' Chelsea Nursery, Clifton, CO
Opuntia polyacantha rhodantha, 'Drama Queen', garden, Grand Junction, CO
Opuntia polyacantha rhodantha, Grand Junction, CO
Opuntia polyacantha rhodantha, Grand Junction, CO
Opuntia polyacantha rhodantha, Grand Junction, CO
Opuntia polyacantha rhodantha, Moab, UT
Opuntia polyacantha rhodantha, Rio Grande Botanic Gardens, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia polyacantha rhodantha, Timberline Gardens, Wheat Ridge, CO
Opuntiapolyacanthaschweriniana, Handbuch der Kakteenkunde. Einleitung und Beschreibung der Pereskioideae und Opuntioideae. 1: 607. 1958 (K. Schum.) Backeberg
Opuntiapolyacanthaschweriniana tends to be a miniature replica of vars polyacantha, juniperina, or hystricina–spination in this prickly pear cactus varies. It grows at high elevations (often above the other varieties) in the Southern Rocky Mountains in eastern Utah, Colorado, northern New Mexico, southern Wyoming, with pockets of similar plants further north in Wyoming and in the Black Hills. Also a few patches at high elevations occur in the San Juan drainage in northeastern Arizona. See the original description (as O.schweriniana).
Opuntia polyacantha schweriniana, Meeker, CO
Opuntia polyacantha schweriniana, Meeker, CO
Opuntia polyacantha schweriniana, Meeker, CO
Opuntia polyacantha schweriniana, Sapinero, CO
Opuntia polyacantha schweriniana, southwest of Taos, NM
Opuntia polyacantha schweriniana, southwest of Taos, NM
Opuntia polyacantha schweriniana, southwest of Taos, NM
Opuntia schweriniana, 8000 ft, Buena Vista, CO, Jeff Teal
Opuntia schweriniana, 8000 ft, Buena Vista, CO, Jeff Teal
Opuntia schweriniana, 8000 ft, Buena Vista, CO, Jeff Teal
Opuntiapolyacanthautahensis has areoles that are relatively far apart. The cladodes are most often thickish and elongate, sometimes a bit lumpy (usually not), and light in color. The cladodes may be yellowish green and the spines are usually pale white to yellowish in color. The spines are slender. The areoles of this prickly pear cactus are relatively far apart on fruit and sometimes spineless. It is found mostly in lower mountains in woodland or scrub, but sometimes it occurs in sagebrush areas. It grows in eastern California (rare), Nevada, western Utah, and perhaps into southern Idaho and southeastern Oregon.
Opuntiapolyacantha is a widespread species found from Canada and the northern Midwest to California and down the backside the Sierra Nevada mountains into Mexico. Some plants don’t fit into the varieties we describe and are worthy of more study. This prickly pear cactus is the most widespread Opuntia in the United states.
There are many naturally occurring O.polyacantha plants with especially beautiful flowers. Also, many garden plants have been created by hybridization. Many vendors sell Opuntia hybrids, including Rainbow Farms. There are Facebook pages devoted to hybrids such as Flower Mountain. Or you may write to Derrill Pope at mokee007@aol.com.
Opuntia polyacantha 'Dark Knight', Derrill Pope
Opuntia polyacantha erinacea hybrid
Opuntia polyacantha hybrid, Derrill Pope
Opuntia polyacantha x macrorhiza hybrid, Derrill Pope
Opuntiapinkavae is a small prickly pear cactus. Long before publication of the name, pinkavae, this Opuntia was distributed under the name O. kaibabensis. However, that name was never officially published. It is a member of the dry-fruited O.polyacantha group.
Details
This prickly pear cactus has ascending to prostrate branches to 10-25 cm tall. Pads of this Opuntia are not fragile and are green, flattened, and narrowly to broadly obovate. Pads are 6-15 cm long and 3-10 cm wide (larger than O debreczyi). There are (0)1-3(4) spines in the distal 25% to 50% areoles, but up to 75% of areoles may have spines. Some plants may have essentially no spines. Spines are porrect to reflexed, whitish at maturity but may have brown bases. Spines of this prickly pear cactus may be up to 50-70 mm long.
Flowers of O.pinkavae are generally purple or magenta and 25-35 mm long. Filaments are yellow to red-orange to magenta; anthers are yellow, and the white style is topped by a green stigma. The fruits are dry at maturity, 20-30 mm long and about 20 mm wide. Seeds are tan, oval to subcircular, and warped with a protruding girdle.
O.pinkavae is octoploid.
Other Notes
This Opuntia is a small prickly pear cactus with compact clumps of pads 8 to 15(20) cm tall, normally growing from a central root system dominated by thickened taproot. The pads are bluish-green and generally tuberculate with small areoles set relatively far apart and bearing 0 to 2(4) slender spines. The flowers are pink with green stigmas. Sometimes flowers are magenta or nearly white, but apparently never orange or yellow. The fruits are dry, and the seeds relatively large and irregular in outline.
This Opuntia is found in the Arizona Strip of northwestern Arizona and southwestern Utah; it is also found north up some of the valleys of southwest Utah, perhaps 50 or more miles. It might occur in adjacent Nevada too, but isn’t documented from there yet. It is a grassland and high desert prickly pear cactus.
O.pinkavae is cold-hardy and tolerant of many garden conditions. Because is is small and compact and has bright flowers, it is an excellent addition to gardens.
Opuntia pinkavae, garden plant, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia pinkavae, garden plant, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia pinkavae, garden plant, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia pinkavae, garden plant, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia pinkavae, garden plant, Nancy Hussey
Opuntia pinkavae, House Rock Valley, AZ, Chris Ginkel
Opuntia pinkavae, House Rock Valley, AZ, Chris Ginkel
Opuntia pinkavae, House Rock Valley, AZ, Chris Ginkel
Opuntia pinkavae, House Rock Valley, AZ, Chris Ginkel
Opuntia pinkavae, House Rock Valley, AZ, Chris Ginkel
Opuntia pinkavae, House Rock Valley, Dave Ferguson
Opuntia pinkavae, House Rock Valley, Dave Ferguson
Opuntia pinkavae, House Rock Valley, Dave Ferguson
Opuntia pinkavae, House Rock Valley, Dave Ferguson
Opuntia pinkavae, House Rock Valley, Dave Ferguson
Opuntia pinkavae, Maratin Tversted Ravn at www.nordravn.dk
Opuntia pinkavae, Maratin Tversted Ravn at www.nordravn.dk
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM, Hayes Jackson
Opuntia aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM, Hayes Jackson
Opuntia nova aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia nova aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia nova aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia nova aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia nova aff camanchica, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia sp nova aff camanchica
Opuntia sp nova aff camanchica, ca. 8000 ft
Opuntia sp nova aff camanchica, ca. 8000 ft
