List of Opuntia species

List of Opuntia species.

The genus Opuntia is within the tribe Opuntieae of the subfamily Opuntioideae, in the family Cactaceae.

List

Species of Opuntia currently accepted, with approximate native ranges, include:

Image	Flower	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution	Cytology
		Opuntia abjecta Small ex Britton & Rose		Florida (Keys)
		Opuntia aciculata Griffiths	Chenille prickly pear, old man's whiskers, cowboy's red whiskers	Texas to Mexico (Nuevo León)
		Opuntia altomagdalenensis Xhonneux		Colombia
		Opuntia amarilla Griffiths		Mexico (Guanajuato to Hidalgo)
		Opuntia anahuacensis Griffiths		Texas
		Opuntia arechavaletae Speg.		S. Brazil to NE. Argentina
		Opuntia atrispina Griffiths		SW. Texas to Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila)
		Opuntia auberi Pfeiff.		Mexico to Central America, Cuba.
		Opuntia aurantiaca Lindl.		NE. Argentina to Uruguay
		Opuntia aurea E.M.Baxter		S. Utah to N. Arizona	2n=66
		Opuntia aureispina (S.Brack & K.D.Heil) Pinkava & B.D.Parfitt		SW. Texas to Mexico (Coahuila)
		Opuntia austrina Small		Central Florida
		Opuntia azurea Rose		NE. Mexico (to Veracruz and Jalisco)
		Opuntia basilaris Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow	beavertail cactus	SW. U.S.A. to Mexico (Baja California Norte, Sonora)	2n=22
		Opuntia bonaerensis Speg.		Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to NE. Argentina
		Opuntia bonplandii (Kunth) F.A.C.Weber		Ecuador.
		Opuntia bravoana E.M.Baxter		Mexico (Baja California Sur)
		Opuntia caboensis F.Mercado & León de la Luz		Mexico (Baja California Sur).
		Opuntia camanchica Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow		SE. California to W. Oklahoma and W. & S. Texas
		Opuntia canterae Arechav.		SW. & S. Uruguay
		Opuntia caracassana Salm-Dyck		S. Caribbean to Colombia
		Opuntia cespitosa Raf.		SE. Canada to E. Central & E. U.S.A.
		Opuntia chaffeyi Britton & Rose		NE. Mexico
		Opuntia chiangiana Scheinvar & Manzanero		Mexico (Oaxaca)
		Opuntia chisosensis (M.S.Anthony) D.J.Ferguson
		Opuntia chlorotica Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow	pancake prickly pear	native to southwest USA and the Sonoran and Mojave deserts	2n=22
		Opuntia clarkiorum Rebman		Mexico (Baja California Norte)
		Opuntia cochenillifera (L.) Mill.		Mexico.
		Opuntia crassa Haw.		Mexico (México State to Guanajuato).
		Opuntia crystalenia Griffiths		Mexico (Tabasco)
		Opuntia cubensis Britton & Rose		Cuba
		Opuntia curassavica (L.) Mill.		Caribbean to N. Venezuela
		Opuntia curvispina Griffiths		S. Nevada to SE. California and W. & N. Arizona.
		Opuntia deamii Rose		Mexico (Chiapas) to Honduras
		Opuntia decumbens Salm-Dyck		El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Central, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá
		Opuntia dejecta Salm-Dyck		Mexico to Nicaragua, Cuba
		Opuntia delafuentiana Martínez-Gonz., Luna-Vega, Gallegos & García-Sand.		Mexico (Hidalgo)
		Opuntia depressa Rose		SW. & Central Mexico (to Veracruz)
		Opuntia diploursina Stock, N.Hussey & Beckstrom		Grand Canyon and Lake Mead National Recreation Area	2n=22
		Opuntia discolor Britton & Rose		Bolivia to N. Argentina
		Opuntia drummondii Graham		Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas
		Opuntia dulcis Engelm.		New Mexico to W. Texas.
		Opuntia eichlamii Rose		Mexico (Chiapas) to Guatemala
		Opuntia elata Link & Otto ex Salm-Dyck		S. Bolivia to Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) and N. to Argentina
		Opuntia elatior Mill.		S. Caribbean, Costa Rica to Venezuela
		Opuntia elizondoana E.Sánchez & Villaseñor		Mexico (Guanajuato to San Luis Potosí).
		Opuntia engelmannii Salm-Dyck ex Engelm.	Engelmann's prickly pear, cow's-tongue prickly pear, desert prickly pear, discus prickly pear, Texas prickly pear, calico cactu	Arizona, California, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Mexico	2n=66
		Opuntia erinacea Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow		California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and N. Mexico
		Opuntia escuintlensis (Matuda) Lodé		Mexico (Chiapas)
		Opuntia excelsa Sánchez-Mej.		Mexico (to Sinaloa)
		Opuntia feroacantha Britton & Rose		Mexico (Sinaloa to Michoacán)
		Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.	Indian fig opuntia	Mexico (Oaxaca)
		Opuntia fragilis (Nutt.) Haw.	little prickly pear, brittle cactus	the Great Plains, parts of the Midwest and in several Canadian provinces, up to 56°N
		Opuntia fuliginosa Griffiths		Mexico
		Opuntia galapageia Hensl.	Galápagos prickly pear	Galápagos Islands
		Opuntia gallegiana Scheinvar & Olalde		Mexico (Zacatecas).
		Opuntia gosseliniana F.A.C.Weber	violet prickly pear	Arizona to Mexico (Sonora)
		Opuntia guatemalensis Britton & Rose		Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (Veracruz, Oaxaca), Nicaragua
		Opuntia guilanchi Griffiths		Mexico
		Opuntia hitchcockii J.G.Ortega		Mexico (Sinaloa, Nayarit)
		Opuntia hondurensis Standl.		Honduras
		Opuntia howeyi J.A.Purpus		Mexico (Zacatecas)
		Opuntia huajuapensis Bravo		Mexico (Veracruz, Puebla, Oaxaca)
		Opuntia humifusa (Raf.) Raf.	eastern prickly pear	humid regions of Eastern United States and northerly regions into Canada, Mexico (Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí)	2n=44
		Opuntia hyptiacantha F.A.C.Weber		Mexico.
		Opuntia inaequilateralis A.Berger		Peru.
		Opuntia inaperta (Schott ex Griffiths) D.R.Hunt		SE. Mexico (to Veracruz)
		Opuntia jaliscana Bravo		Mexico
		Opuntia jamaicensis Britton & Harris		Jamaica
		Opuntia kingstoniana Guiggi		Jamaica.
		Opuntia lagunae E.M.Baxter		Mexico (Baja California Sur)
		Opuntia lasiacantha Pfeiff.		Mexico
		Opuntia leucotricha DC.	arborescent prickly pear, Aaron's beard cactus, semaphore cactus, Duraznillo blanco, nopal blanco	N. & W. Mexico
		Opuntia littoralis (Engelm.) Cockerell	coastal prickly pear, sprawling prickly pear	California to Mexico (Baja California Norte)
		Opuntia lutea (Rose) D.R.Hunt
		Opuntia mackensenii Rose
		Opuntia macrocentra Engelm.	black-spined prickly pear, purple prickly pear	southwest USA and northern Mexico
		Opuntia macrorhiza Engelm.	Plains prickly pear	Great Plains except for the northernmost areas (not found in North Dakota), and extending sporadically eastward as far as Kentucky	2n=44
		Opuntia mantaroensis Guiggi
		Opuntia martiniana (L.D.Benson) B.D.Parfitt
		Opuntia matudae Scheinvar	xoconostle
		Opuntia maxima Mill.
		Opuntia megacantha Salm-Dyck
		Opuntia megapotamica Arechav.
		Opuntia megarrhiza Rose
		Opuntia mesacantha Raf.
		Opuntia microdasys (Lehm.) Pfeiff.	bunny ears cactus, polka-dot cactus
		Opuntia militaris Britton & Rose
		Opuntia monacanthos (Willd.) Haw.	common prickly pear
		Opuntia nemoralis Griffiths
		Opuntia nicholii L.D.Benson
		Opuntia ochrocentra Small ex Britton & Rose
		Opuntia orbiculata Salm-Dyck ex Pfeiff.
		Opuntia oricola Philbrick
		Opuntia pachyrrhiza H.M.Hern., Gómez-Hin. & Bárcenas
		Opuntia parviclada S.Arias & Gama
		Opuntia peckii J.A.Purpus
		Opuntia perotensis Scheinvar, Olalde & Gallegos
		Opuntia phaeacantha Engelm.	tulip prickly pear, includes plateau prickly pear, brown-spined prickly pear, Mojave prickly pear, Kingman prickly pear		2n=66
		Opuntia pilifera F.A.C.Weber
		Opuntia pinkavae B.D.Parfitt	Pinkava prickly pear		2n=88
		Opuntia pittieri Britton & Rose
		Opuntia polyacantha Haw.	Plains prickly pear, Starvation Prickly pear, Panhandle prickly pear	the Great Plains, Great Basin, Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau, and the Rocky Mountains	2n=22, 2n=44
		Opuntia pottsii Salm-Dyck
		Opuntia preciadoae Scheinvar, Olalde, Gallegos & J.Morales S.
		Opuntia puberula Pfeiff.
		Opuntia pubescens H.L.Wendl. ex Pfeiff.
		Opuntia pycnantha Engelm.
		Opuntia quimilo K.Schum.
		Opuntia quitensis F.A.C.Weber	Red Buttons opuntia
		Opuntia rastrera F.A.C.Weber
		Opuntia repens Bello
		Opuntia retrorsa Speg.
		Opuntia ritteri A.Berger
		Opuntia robinsonii J.G.Ortega
		Opuntia robusta H.L.Wendl. ex Pfeiff.
		Opuntia rufida Engelm.
		Opuntia rzedowskii Scheinvar
		Opuntia sanguinea Proctor
		Opuntia scheeri F.A.C.Weber
		Opuntia schumannii F.A.C.Weber ex A.Berger
		Opuntia setocarpa Arreola-Nava, Guzm.-Hern. & Cuevas
		Opuntia sierralagunensis León de la Luz & F.Mercado
		Opuntia soederstromiana Britton & Rose
		Opuntia spinosibacca M.S.Anthony
		Opuntia spinulifera Salm-Dyck
		Opuntia stenarthra K.Schum.
		Opuntia stenopetala Engelm.
		Opuntia streptacantha Lem.
		Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw.	erect prickly pear, spineless prickly pear
		Opuntia strigil Engelm.
		Opuntia sulphurea G.Don ex Salm-Dyck
		Opuntia tapona Engelm. ex J.M.Coult.
		Opuntia tehuacana S.Arias & U.Guzmán
		Opuntia tehuantepecana (Bravo) Bravo
		Opuntia tezontepecana Gallegos & Scheinvar
		Opuntia tomentosa Salm-Dyck
		Opuntia tortispina Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow
		Opuntia triacanthos (Willd.) Sweet
		Opuntia tuna (L.) Mill.
		Opuntia tunoidea Gibbes
		Opuntia velutina F.A.C.Weber
		Opuntia wilcoxii Britton & Rose
		Opuntia zacuapanensis A.Berger
		Opuntia zamudioi Scheinvar

Natural Hybrids

Image	Flower	Scientific name	Parentage	Distribution	Cytology
		Opuntia × aequatorialis Britton & Rose	O. pubescens × O. soederstromiana	Ecuador
		Opuntia × alta Griffiths	O. engelmannii var. lindheimeri × O. stricta	SE. Texas to SW. Louisiana
		Opuntia × andersonii H.M.Hern., Gómez-Hin. & Bárcenas	O. engelmannii × O. microdasys	NE. Mexico
		Opuntia × carstenii R.Puente & C.Hamann	O. microdasys × O. stenopetala	Mexico (Coahuila)
		Opuntia × charlestonensis Clokey	O. phaeacantha × O. polyacantha var erinacea.	Nevada
		Opuntia × cochinera Griffiths	O. microdasys × O. stenopetala	Mexico (Coahuila)
		Opuntia × coloradensis D.J.Barnett & Donnie Barnett	O. fragilis × O. polyacantha var. hystricina.	Colorado
		Opuntia × columbiana Griffiths	O. fragilis × O. polyacantha	W. Canada to NW. U.S.A
		Opuntia × cristalensis Oakley, Font & M.Köhler	O. elata var. obovata × O. ficus-indica.	Argentina
		Opuntia × debreczyi Szutorisz	O. fragilis × O. polyacantha.	SW. Wyoming to NW. New Mexico
		Opuntia × demissa Griffiths	O. littoralis × O. oricola	California
		Opuntia × occidentalis Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow
		Opuntia × rooneyi M.P.Griff.
		Opuntia × vaseyi (J.M.Coult.) Britton & Rose
		Opuntia × woodburyi (W.H.Earle ex S.L.Welsh) Stock