''Opuntia cacanapa'' is a
cactus
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...
in the genus ''
Opuntia
''Opuntia'', commonly called prickly pear or pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''nopal'' (paddle, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word f ...
''. In the United States it is found primarily in the southern Trans-Pecos and the South Texas Plains from Brewster, Pecos and Uvalde Counties south to Cameron County. It also occurs in nearby Mexico from the Rio Grande to as far south as Guanajuato and northern Hidalgo.
Details
The plants are variable in size, but can form shrubby trees from 1 to 2 m tall. They grow intermixed with other shrubs and small trees, often on limestone derived soils. The glaucous pads are pale and not dark green. Cladodes are 15 to 20 cm long and may be broadly elliptical, obovate, ovate, or most often circular. The flowers are a rich, canary yellow (rarely orange or red) and have a prominent green stigma. The leaves are notable because they recurve strongly.
'Ellisiana' is a special selection of ''O. cacanapa'' that has no spines and no glochids. Thus, it is smooth to the touch. It is moderately cold hardy and is used in cactus gardens as far north as New Mexico, Oklahoma and northern Virginia.
2-opuntia-cacanapa.jpg, Opuntia cacanapa in flower
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q41804850
cacanapa