Opuntia monacantha

Opuntia monacantha, commonly known as drooping prickly pear, cochineal prickly pear, or Barbary fig, is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae native to South America.

Opuntia monacantha
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Opuntia
Species:
O. monacantha
Binomial name
Opuntia monacantha

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described in 1812 by botanist Adrian Haworth in Synopsis Plantarum Succulentarum. The name Opuntia vulgaris, which is a synonym of Opuntia ficus-indica, has been misapplied to this species in Australia. From Adrian Hardy Haworth, the species was in the genus 1819 Opuntia. Many authors, including Nathaniel Lord Britton, Joseph Nelson Rose and Curt Backeberg stated that Opuntia monacantha was just for another name for Opuntia vulgaris.

Description
Flower

Opuntia monacantha is a succulent, thorny shrub that grows almost tree-like with several branches and profusely expanded crown in branches that reaches a height of up to 5 meters. The oval to elongated shoots narrowed at the base are shiny green. They are quite thin and four to ten inches long. The widely spaced areoles have brownish glochids. The straight thorn (rarely two to three are present) is brown and between 3 and 4 centimeters long.[2]

The dark yellow flowers reach a diameter of up to 8 centimeters. The pear-shaped, red fruits are thornless and up to 7 centimeters long.

Distribution

It is native to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay and is naturalised in Australia and South Africa up to altitudes of 1000 meters. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and sandy shores.

References
  1. Taylor, N.P. 2002. Opuntia monacantha. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 22 August 2007.
  2. Opuntia monacantha . In: Edward F. Anderson : The Cactus Family . Timber Press: Portland (Oregon), 2001, pp. 508 f. ISBN 0-88192-498-9 .
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