These are Opuntias used as garden plant because they have purple pads, attractive spines, relatively small sizes, colorful flower displays, easy growth, or reliable performance.
Opuntiamesacantha is a southeastern prickly pear found in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida and adjacent areas in the southern Piedmant and Gulf Coast Barrier Islands. It is absent in the Florida peninsula. It resembles O.humifusa and O.cespitosa but has distinct differences; see Majure, 2014 and Majure et al, 2012.
Details
O.mesacantha is a prostrate plant that may branch in all directions to 1 m across. Cladodes may be spined or unspined and are smooth in outline, obovate or rotund, occasionally elliptical. Spines are stout (0.95-1.3 mm in diameter).
Flowers are pure yellow with no red. Fruits are reddish at maturity. Seeds are 5.0-5.9 mm long.
O.mesacantha and O.lata are difficult to differentiate in the field, but Adanick et al., 2019 developed a method to measure stomates in the field and differentiate the two taxa easily. See the original description. O.mesacantha is tetraploid, whereas the related O.lata is a diploid. Like other eastern prickly pears, O.mesacantha colonizes sandy or rocky areas that become dry between rains.
O.humifusa is an allotetraploid (2n=44), cryptic species that is most easily confused with O.mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, from which it can be separated by its lack of spines…and generally increased number of areoles per diagonal row across the cladode face at midstem (4-5 vs. 3-4 in O.mesacantha), generally inserted glochids (vs. exerted in O.mesacantha), and smaller seeds (4.0-4.6 mm long in O.humifusa vs. 5.0-5.9 mm long in O.mesacantha) with a smooth funicular envelop (instead of the upraised funicular envelope in O.mesacantha ssp. mesacantha).
Opuntia mesacantha, Barrow County, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Barrow County, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Carrollton, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Carrollton, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Carrollton, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Elbert County, GA, Hayes Jackson
Opuntia mesacantha, Elbert County, GA, Hayes Jackson
Opuntia mesacantha, Elbert County, GA, Hayes Jackson
Opuntia mesacantha, habitat, Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Rockdale County, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Wadley, AL, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Wadley, AL, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha-like, Little River Canyon National Preserve, AL, Hayes Jackson
Opuntiaxanthoglochia is a prickly pear cactus cactus found in central Texas, east of Austin although it may range into other areas.
Details
O.xanthoglochia resembles O.macrorhiza, and the cactus has been conflated with that species. The plant is prostrate to 8- to 12-inches tall. Large plants may be 3-ft across. The cladodes are oval or obovate and may be more or less pointed at both ends or round. Cladodes may be 4-inches across and up to 5(6)-inches long. O.xanthoglochia has yellowish glochids, sometimes numerous and prominent and up to 3/8-inch long.
Opuntiacespitosa is a prickly pear included 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.
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.
Unlike O.humifusa, 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 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, TX, 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. See the original description. O.cespitosa is tetraploid.
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.
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. Read the original description.
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
Opuntiawoodsii is a unique, red-flowered medium-sized Opuntia from southern Utah and northern Arizona.
Details
Opuntiawoodsii has been proposed to be synonymous with numerous other prickly pears. It has even been proposed to be a pink- or red-flowered hybrid of various parents. But O.woodsii is a distinct cactus; it is a self-reproducing species and is not a hybrid population.
O.woodsii is a medium-sized Opuntia, sedom reaching more than 25-30 cm in height. Nevertheless, it is not a small plant. It is typically a stiffly spreading or ascending bushy plant. However, it does grow low and spreads along the ground in cold winter climates. Cladodes may be round but are more often oval or obovate, narrowing toward the base. Areoles in the upper half of the cladodes have (1)2 to 4 spines that may stand out from the surface. The white spines sometimes have brown bases extending half way up the spine.
Flowers are salmon, pink, or even bright orange-red.
O woodsii grows in gravelly or rocky soils. See the original, very brief, citation.
O.woodsii is an excellent garden plant due to its medium size, reddish flowers, and white spines.
Opuntiatortispina is a prickly pear cactus that has been confused with O.cymochila, O.mackensenii, O.phaeacantha and other, small opuntias. O.tortispina may grow alongside the other prickly pears, but it is distinct.
Details
From Powell and Weedin:
O.tortispina is often spinier appearing than other nearby species of Opuntia and is a low, creeping, spreading, and sprawling plant . It seldom exceeds 30 cm tall. The pads are obovate or long obovate about 10-20 cm long and 7-12 cm wide. Areoles over 2/3 of the pads have spines, often 3 to 5 centrals (typically white or tan). Areoles are closer together on O.tortispina than on O.phaeacantha. Pads may/may not have transverse wrinkles in winter; however, unlike O.cymochila the wrinkles smooth out when turgidity returns.
Flowers may be all yellow or may have reddish centers in this prickly pear. The fruits are juicy and obovate to elliptic (Weedin and Powell).
This Opuntia is found in sandy soils in mid-altitude woodlands and grasslands and irregularly in other locations. O.tortispina is found from northern Mexico to Colorado, Arizona, and Texas and perhaps north to Colorado and Kansas. Some botanists consider that O.tortispina is a species of hybrid origin (O.polyacantha and O.macrorhiza). However, such hybridization would have occurred long ago. It is a stable, self-reproducing stand-alone species now.
Opuntia tortispina
Opuntia tortispina, Albuquerque, NM
Opuntia tortispina, flower, garden plant
Opuntia tortispina, flower, garden plant
Opuntia tortispina, flower, garden plant
Opuntia tortispina, fruit
Opuntia tortispina, fruit
Opuntia tortispina, fruit
Opuntia tortispina, garden plant, clone from Tierra Grande, NM
Opuntia tortispina, habitat
Opuntia tortispina, Lake Conchas, NM
Opuntia tortispina, Lake Conchas, NM
Opuntia tortispina, Lake Conchas, NM
Opuntia tortispina, Lake Conchas, NM
Opuntia tortispina, near Roswell, NM, Michelle Cloud-Hughes
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 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. See the original description. O.trichophora is diploid.
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
Dave Ferguson writes:
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. The seeds are irregular in outline and large.
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 ft or higher. It has been anecdotally reported at 9000 ft.
This Opuntia occurs throughout much of Colorado Plateau and north into WY along Flaming Gorge. It may be observed east of the central mountains of UT, on the western side of CO, in northern AZ, in most of NM west of the Great Plains, in trans-Pecos TX, and into Mexico.
Opuntiapusilla is a small prickly pear cactus of the coastal plains from North Carolina, across northern Florida, to Mississippi. While thought of as a beach cactus, this small prickly pear cactus occurs more than 150 miles inland.
Details
The stems of this prickly pear cactus are purplish-red under stress, flattened, elliptic to linear, sometimes subcylindric (to subspheric), 2.5-5(-8) × 1.2-2.5 cm. The stem segments are fragile and detach easily. Spines (0)1-2(-4) per areole are restricted the the distal half of the areoles, but some areoles may have no spines. Spines are porrect to spreading, terete and 20(30) mm.
The flowers of this Opuntia are completely yellow. Fruits become red-purple and are barrel shaped. Seeds are tan, subcircular, flattened, and 4 to 6 mm in diameter with a slight girdle.
O. drummondii may be the correct name for this Opuntia (L Majure, page 167). Some reports (Weniger, 1988) place it on the northern Gulf Coast of Texas also, but the authors have not observed it there. Several other specific epithets have been applied to this smallest of the southeastern opuntias including tracyi, and pes-corvi. Perhaps these are synonyms or perhaps they are discrete taxa yet to be sorted out. See the Cytogeography of the humifusa clade of Opuntia.
O.pusilla has been reported to be diploid, triploid, and tetraploid. These ploidies indicate that there are different, but similar-appearing taxa, or they may may only represent ploidy differences within a single taxon. All are treated as a single taxon herein. See the original description.
Haworth, Supplementum Plantarum Succulentarum 82, 1819
What is Opuntiapolyacantha?
Opuntiapolyacantha is a variable prickly pear cactus ranging from Mexico near CA, to TX, to the Rocky Mountain states and the Great Plains, and north into Alberta and Saskatchewan. This prickly pear cactus has been observed in dry areas in MN and MO. This Opuntia is more much more widely spread than the ubiquitous O.phaeacantha.
Details
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
Opuntiapolyacantha
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.
Opuntiapolyacanthaerinaceae 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 UT and almost to the Four Corners in AZ (it was mostly behind dam building and populations were destroy by reservoirs). This Opuntia variety grows in southeastern CA, NV, northern AZ, UT, and CO. 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 NV and southwestern UT to southwestern CO, central NM, and across most of northern AZ.
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 WY, CO, eastern UT, northern AZ, and northern and central NM. Similar groups of plants are scattered into ID and north into northern WY and in the Black Hills as well as the higher plateaus and mountain country of northern AZ. 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 MN southward to central NM, and the panhandles of TX and OK. This Opuntia has been reported IA and MO. It also occurs in southern ID and eastern UT. 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 ID and MT.
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 UT, western CO, southwestern WY, southern ID, southeastern OR, and parts of eastern NV.
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 UT, CO, northern NM, southern WY, with pockets of similar plants further north in WY and in the Black Hills. Also a few patches at high elevations occur in the San Juan drainage in northeastern AZ. 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 CA (rare), NV, western UT, and perhaps into southern ID and southeastern OR.
Opuntiapolyacantha is a widespread species found from Canada and the northern Midwest to California and down the backside of the coastal 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
Opuntia mesacantha, Barrow County, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Barrow County, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Carrollton, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Carrollton, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Carrollton, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Elbert County, GA, Hayes Jackson
Opuntia mesacantha, Elbert County, GA, Hayes Jackson
Opuntia mesacantha, Elbert County, GA, Hayes Jackson
Opuntia mesacantha, habitat, Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Rockdale County, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Wadley, AL, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha, Wadley, AL, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha,Stone Mt, GA, Paul Adanick
Opuntia mesacantha-like, Little River Canyon National Preserve, AL, Hayes Jackson
