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 Florida (Keys) 2n = 22, 2n = 44 Opuntia aciculata Chenille prickly pear, old man's whiskers, cowboy's red whiskers Texas to Mexico (Nuevo León) 2n = 44 Opuntia altomagdalenensis Colombia Opuntia amarilla Mexico (Guanajuato to Hidalgo) 2n = 88 Opuntia anahuacensis Texas Opuntia arechavaletae S. Brazil to NE. Argentina Opuntia arenaria W. TexasOpuntia atrispina SW. Texas to Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila) 2n = 22, 2n = 44 Opuntia auberi Mexico to Central America, Cuba. Opuntia aurantiaca NE. Argentina to Uruguay 2n = 44Opuntia aurea S. Utah to N. Arizona 2n=66 Opuntia aureispina SW. Texas to Mexico (Coahuila) 2n = 22 Opuntia austrina Central Florida Opuntia azurea NE. Mexico (to Veracruz and Jalisco) 2n = 22Opuntia basilaris beavertail cactus SW. U.S.A. to Mexico (Baja California Norte, Sonora) 2n=22 Opuntia bonaerensis Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to NE. Argentina Opuntia bonplandii Ecuador. 2n = 88 Opuntia bravoana Mexico (Baja California Sur) 2n = 66 Opuntia caboensis Mexico (Baja California Sur). Opuntia camanchica SE. California to W. Oklahoma and W. & S. Texas 2n = 66 Opuntia canterae SW. & S. Uruguay Opuntia caracassana S. Caribbean to Colombia 2n = 22 Opuntia cespitosa SE. Canada to E. Central & E. U.S.A. Opuntia chaffeyi NE. Mexico 2n = 44 Opuntia chiangiana Mexico (Oaxaca) Opuntia chisosensis Texas to Mexico (Coahuila) 2n = 22Opuntia chlorotica pancake prickly pear native to southwest USA and the Sonoran and Mojave deserts 2n=22 Opuntia clarkiorum Mexico (Baja California Norte) Opuntia cochenillifera Mexico. Opuntia colubrina Argentina Opuntia crassa Mexico (México State to Guanajuato). 2n = 88 Opuntia crystalenia Mexico (Tabasco) Opuntia cubensis Cuba 2n = 44 Opuntia curassavica Caribbean to N. Venezuela Opuntia curvispina S. Nevada to SE. California and W. & N. Arizona. 2n = 44 Opuntia deamii Mexico (Chiapas) to Honduras Opuntia decumbens El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Central, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá Opuntia dejecta Mexico to Nicaragua, Cuba Opuntia delafuentiana Mexico (Hidalgo) Opuntia depressa SW. & Central Mexico (to Veracruz) Opuntia diploursina Grand Canyon and Lake Mead National Recreation Area 2n=22 Opuntia discolor Bolivia to N. Argentina Opuntia drummondii Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas Opuntia dulcis New Mexico to W. Texas. 2n = 66 Opuntia eichlamii Mexico (Chiapas) to Guatemala 2n = 66Opuntia elata S. Bolivia to Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) and N. to Argentina 2n = 22, 2n = 44 Opuntia elatior S. Caribbean, Costa Rica to Venezuela 2n = 22, 2n = 66 Opuntia elizondoana Mexico (Guanajuato to San Luis Potosí). 2n = 44Opuntia engelmannii 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=66Opuntia erinacea California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and N. Mexico Opuntia escuintlensis Mexico (Chiapas) Opuntia excelsa Mexico (to Sinaloa) 2n = 22 Opuntia feroacantha Mexico (Sinaloa to Michoacán) Opuntia ficus-indica Indian fig opuntia Mexico (Oaxaca)2n = 22Opuntia fragilis little prickly pear, brittle cactus the Great Plains, parts of the Midwest and in several Canadian provinces, up to 56°N 2n = 66 Opuntia fuliginosa Mexico 2n = 88 Opuntia galapageia Galápagos prickly pear Galápagos Islands 2n = 66 Opuntia gallegiana Mexico (Zacatecas).Opuntia gosseliniana violet prickly pear Arizona to Mexico (Sonora) 2n = 22 Opuntia guatemalensis Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (Veracruz, Oaxaca), Nicaragua Opuntia guilanchi Mexico Opuntia hitchcockii Mexico (Sinaloa, Nayarit) Opuntia hondurensis Honduras Opuntia howeyi Mexico (Zacatecas) Opuntia huajuapensis Mexico (Veracruz, Puebla, Oaxaca) Opuntia humifusa eastern prickly pear humid regions of Eastern United States and northerly regions into Canada, Mexico (Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí) n = 22, 2n=44 Opuntia hyptiacantha Mexico. 2n = 66 Opuntia inaequilateralis Peru. 2n = 66 Opuntia inaperta SE. Mexico (to Veracruz) Opuntia jaliscana Mexico Opuntia jamaicensis Jamaica2n = 22 Opuntia kingstoniana Jamaica. Opuntia lagunae Mexico (Baja California Sur) Opuntia lasiacantha Mexico 2n = 88 Opuntia leucotricha arborescent prickly pear, Aaron's beard cactus, semaphore cactus, Duraznillo blanco, nopal blanco N. & W. Mexico 2n = 44Opuntia littoralis coastal prickly pear, sprawling prickly pear California to Mexico (Baja California Norte) 2n = 66 Opuntia lutea Mexico (Oaxaca, Chiapas), Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua Opuntia mackensenii Texas 2n = 44Opuntia macrocentra black-spined prickly pear, purple prickly pear southwest USA and northern Mexico 2n = 22Opuntia macrorhiza Plains prickly pear Great Plains except for the northernmost areas (not found in North Dakota), and extending sporadically eastward as far as Kentucky 2n = 22, 2n=44 Opuntia mantaroensis Peru Opuntia martiniana Arizona Opuntia matudae xoconostle Mexico 2n = 66Opuntia maxima Central & SW. Mexico Opuntia megacantha Mexico (to Jalisco) 2n = 66 Opuntia megapotamica Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay Opuntia megarrhiza Mexico (Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí) 2n = 66 Opuntia mesacantha United States (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia) Opuntia microdasys bunny ears cactus, polka-dot cactus Mexico 2n = 22 Opuntia militaris Cuba Opuntia monacanthos common prickly pear Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay Opuntia nemoralis United States (Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas) Opuntia nicholii United States (Arizona, Nevada, Utah ) Opuntia ochrocentra Florida (Big Pine Key) 2n = 55 Opuntia orbiculata United States (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas), Mexico 2n = 22, 2n = 44Opuntia oricola California to Mexico (Baja California Norte) 2n = 33, 2n = 66 Opuntia pachyrrhiza Mexico (Nuevo León, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí) 2n = 22 Opuntia parviclada Mexico (Puebla, Oaxaca) Opuntia peckii Mexico Opuntia perotensis Mexico (Veracruz) Opuntia phaeacantha tulip prickly pear, includes plateau prickly pear, brown-spined prickly pear, Mojave prickly pear, Kingman prickly pear United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah), Mexico 2n=66 Opuntia pilifera Central Mexico (to Oaxaca) 2n = 88Opuntia pinkavae Pinkava prickly pear SW. Utah to NW. Arizona 2n=88 Opuntia pittieri Colombia Opuntia polyacantha 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=44Opuntia pottsii SE. Arizona to W. Texas and NE. Mexico 2n = 44, 2n = 66 Opuntia preciadoae N. Mexico Opuntia puberula Mexico to Guatemala 2n = 66 Opuntia pubescens Mexico to Venezuela and Paraguay 2n = 44 Opuntia pycnantha Mexico (Baja California Sur) Opuntia quimilo Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay 2n = 22Opuntia quitensis Red Buttons opuntia Colombia, Ecuador, Peru 2n=22, 2n =44 Opuntia rastrera Mexico (to Veracruz and Jalisco) 2n = 66Opuntia repens Hispaniola to Virgin Islands 2n = 22, 2n = 44 Opuntia retrorsa Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay Opuntia ritteri Mexico (Zacatecas) Opuntia robinsonii N. & W. Mexico Opuntia robusta Mexico 2n = 22, 2n = 44Opuntia rufida SW. Texas to NE. Mexico 2n = 22 Opuntia rzedowskii Mexico (México D.F.) 2n = 88 Opuntia sanguinea Jamaica 2n = 22 Opuntia scheeri NE. Mexico (to Jalisco) 2n = 22 Opuntia schumannii Colombia, Venezuela Opuntia setocarpa Mexico (Jalisco) Opuntia sierralagunensis Mexico (Baja California Sur). Opuntia soederstromiana Colombia, Ecuador2n = 88Opuntia spinosibacca SW. Texas to Mexico (Coahuila) Opuntia spinulifera E. & Central Mexico Opuntia stenarthra E. Bolivia to Central Paraguay and NE. Argentina Opuntia stenopetala NE. Mexico (to Veracruz) Opuntia streptacantha Mexico to Guatemala Opuntia stricta erect prickly pear, spineless prickly pear SE. U.S.A. to E. & S. Mexico 2n = 66 Opuntia strigil W. Texas to NE. Mexico 2n = 22, 2n = 44Opuntia sulphurea Bolivia to Uruguay. 2n = 22 Opuntia tapona Mexico (Baja California Sur) Opuntia tehuacana Mexico (Puebla, Oaxaca) Opuntia tehuantepecana Mexico (Oaxaca, Chiapas). Opuntia tezontepecana Mexico (Hidalgo) Opuntia tomentosa Mexico to Honduras Opuntia tortispina United States (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming )2n = 44 Opuntia triacanthos Puerto Rico to Lesser Antilles. Opuntia tuna Mexico, S. Jamaica 2n = 44 Opuntia tunoidea Coastal South Carolina Opuntia velutina Mexico. Opuntia wilcoxii Mexico Opuntia zacuapanensis Mexico (Veracruz) Opuntia zamudioi Mexico (Querétaro, San Luis Potosí) 2n = 88
Natural Hybrids Image Flower Scientific name Parentage Distribution Cytology Opuntia × aequatorialis O. pubescens × O. soederstromiana Ecuador Opuntia × alta O. engelmannii var. lindheimeri × O. stricta SE. Texas to SW. Louisiana Opuntia × andersonii O. engelmannii × O. microdasys NE. Mexico Opuntia × carstenii O. microdasys × O. stenopetalaMexico (Coahuila) Opuntia × charlestonensis O. phaeacantha × O. polyacantha var erinacea. Nevada Opuntia × cochinera O. microdasys × O. stenopetala Mexico (Coahuila) Opuntia × coloradensis O. fragilis × O. polyacantha var. hystricina. Colorado Opuntia × columbiana O. fragilis × O. polyacantha W. Canada to NW. U.S.A Opuntia × cristalensis O. elata var. obovata × O. ficus-indica. Argentina Opuntia × debreczyi O. fragilis × O. polyacantha. SW. Wyoming to NW. New Mexico Opuntia × demissa O. littoralis × O. oricola California Opuntia × occidentalis O. engelmannii × O. littoralis × O. phaeacantha. SW. California to Mexico (Baja California) Opuntia × rooneyi O. aureispina × O. macrocentra. SW. Texas Opuntia × vaseyi O. aurea × O. pinkavae SW. Utah Opuntia × woodburyi O. littoralis × O. phaeacantha SW. California
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