''Opuntia engelmannii'' is a
prickly pear common across the south-central and
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
and northern
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. It goes by a variety of common names, including desert prickly pear, discus prickly pear, Engelmann's prickly pear
in the US, and nopal, abrojo, joconostle, and vela de coyote in Mexico.
The nomenclatural history of this species is somewhat complicated due to the varieties, as well as its habit of hybridizing with ''
Opuntia phaeacantha''. It differs from ''
Opuntia phaeacantha'' by being green year round instead of turning reddish purple during winter or dry seasons, as well as having yellow flowers with red centers.
Varieties
*''Opuntia engelmannii'' var. ''cuija'' — nopal cuijo; endemic to Mexico, in Guanajuato, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí.
*''Opuntia engelmannii'' var. ''engelmannii'' — Engelmann's prickly pear; Mexico, southwestern U.S., California
*''Opuntia engelmannii'' var. ''flavispina'' — yellow-spined prickly pear; Arizona, Mexico
*''Opuntia engelmannii'' var. ''laevis'' — smooth prickly pear; Arizona
*
''Opuntia engelmannii'' var. ''lindheimeri'' — Texas prickly pear; endemic to U.S. in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas.
*''Opuntia engelmannii'' var. ''linguiformis'' — cow's tongue cactus, cow tongue prickly pear; Texas
''Opuntia engelmannii'' var. ''flexospina'' is most likely a spiny form of ''
Opuntia aciculata''.
Balchik Botanical Garden 2017 53.jpg, ''O. e.'' var. ''engelmannii''
Opuntia engelmannii flavispina 1zz.jpg, ''O. e.'' var. ''flavispina''
Flower Opuntia engelmannii var lindheimeri.jpg, An unusual orange-red form of ''O. e.'' var. ''lindheimeri''
Cacti, Porto Botanical gardens..jpg, ''O. e.'' var. ''linguiformis''
Opuntia17 filtered.jpg, ''O. e.'' var. ''laevis'' (right)
Distribution
The ''Opuntia engelmannii'' range extends from
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
to
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
in the United States, and from
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
(state) and
Chihuahua (state), to the
Tamaulipan matorral
The Tamaulipan matorral is an ecoregion in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental range in northeastern Mexico. It is a transitional ecoregion between the Tamaulipan mezquital and the Sierra Ma ...
in north and
central Tamaulipas.
In the
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...
, terminal pads face predominantly east-west, so as to maximize the absorption of solar radiation during summer rains. Although found occasionally in the
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
, it tends to be replaced by ''
Opuntia basilaris'', which does not need the summer rain.
Naturalised
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
in southern and eastern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, including
Loisaba in
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
.
Description
''Opuntia engelmannii'' is generally shrubby, with dense clumps up to high, usually with no apparent trunk. The pads are green (rarely blue-green), obovate to round, about 15–30 cm long and 12–20 cm wide.
The
glochid
Glochids or glochidia (: "glochidium") are hair-like spines or short prickles, generally barbed, found on the areoles of Cactus, cacti in the sub-family ''Opuntioideae''. Cactus glochids easily detach from the plant and lodge in the skin, causi ...
s are yellow initially, then brown with age. Spines are extremely variable, with anywhere from 1-8 per areole, and often absent from lower areoles; they are yellow to white, slightly flattened, and 1–6 cm long.
The flowers are yellow, occasionally reddish, 5–8 cm in diameter and about as long. Flowering is in April and May, with each bloom lasting only one day, opening at about 08:00 A.M. and closing 8 hours later. Pollinators include
solitary bee
Solitary is the state of being alone or in solitude. The term may refer to:
* Solitary (album), ''Solitary'' (album), 2008 album by Don Dokken
* Solitary (2020 film), ''Solitary'' (2020 film), a British sci-fi thriller film
* Solitary (upcoming fi ...
s, such as the
Antophoridae, and
sap beetle
The sap beetles, also known as Nitidulidae, are a family (biology), family of beetles.
They are small (2–6 mm) ovoid, usually dull-coloured beetles, with knobbed antenna (biology), antennae. Some have red or yellow spots or bands. They fe ...
s.
The purple fleshy fruits are 3–7 cm long.
Uses
The fruits were a reliable summer food for
Native American tribes.
U. of Michigan: Native American Ethnobotany Database
/ref> The Tohono O'odham of the Sonoran Desert in particular classified the fruits by color, time of ripening, and how well they kept in storage.
''Opuntia engelmannii'' is cultivated as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...
, for use in drought tolerant
In botany, drought tolerance is the ability by which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tole ...
gardens, container plantings, and natural landscaping
Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden.
Benefits
Maintenance
Natural landscaping is adapted to t ...
projects.[Master Gardeners of the University of Arizona Pima County Cooperative Extension — ''Opuntia engelmannii''](_blank)
/ref>
References
* Edward F. Anderson, ''The Cactus Family'' (Timber Press, 2001), pp. 497–498
* Raymond M. Turner, Janice E. Bowers, and Tony L. Burgess, ''Sonoran Desert Plants: an Ecological Atlas'' (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1995) pp. 291–293
External links
USDA Plants Profile for ''Opuntia engelmannii'' var. ''lindheimeri'' (Texas pricklypear)
''Opuntia engelmannii'' — U.C. Photo gallery
Herbarium specimen
Opuntia engelmannii photo gallery at Opuntia Web
{{Authority control
engelmannii
Cacti of Mexico
Cacti of the United States
North American desert flora
Flora of the California desert regions
Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert
Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
Flora of Northwestern Mexico
Flora of Northeastern Mexico
Flora of Central Mexico
Flora of the Southwestern United States
Flora of Arizona
Flora of California
Flora of Nevada
Flora of New Mexico
Flora of Texas
Flora of Oklahoma
Flora of Louisiana
Flora of Utah
Flora of Chihuahua (state)
Flora of Sonora
Desert fruits
Plants used in Native American cuisine