The genus Opuntia is within the tribe Opuntieae of the subfamily Opuntioideae, in the family Cactaceae.
Species of Opuntia currently accepted, with approximate native ranges, include:[1]
| Image | Flower | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution | Cytology[2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 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 = 44 | ||||
| Opuntia 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 = 22 | ||||
| Opuntia 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 = 22 | ||||
| Opuntia 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 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 = 66 | ||||
| Opuntia 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 = 44 | ||||
| Opuntia 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=66 | |||
| Opuntia 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 = 22 | |||
| Opuntia 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 | Jamaica | 2n = 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 = 44 | |||
| Opuntia 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 = 44 | ||||
| Opuntia macrocentra | black-spined prickly pear, purple prickly pear | southwest USA and northern Mexico | 2n = 22 | |||
| Opuntia 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 = 66 | |||
| Opuntia 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 = 44 | ||||
| Opuntia 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 = 88 | ||||
| Opuntia 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=44 | |||
| Opuntia 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 = 22 | ||||
| Opuntia quitensis | Red Buttons opuntia | Colombia, Ecuador, Peru | 2n=22, 2n =44 | |||
| Opuntia rastrera | Mexico (to Veracruz and Jalisco) | 2n = 66 | ||||
| Opuntia 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 = 44 | ||||
| Opuntia 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, Ecuador | 2n = 88 | ||||
| Opuntia 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 = 44 | ||||
| Opuntia 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 | ||||
| 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. stenopetala | Mexico (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 | |||