Opuntia

Opuntia subsp. var.

prickly pear, paddle cactus, nopales

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Cactaceae >

Opuntia

var.

, Mill.

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Opuntia, also known as nopales (see below), or Paddle Cactus from the resemblance to the ball-and-paddle toy, is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.

Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200^[1] species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider a subgenus of Opuntia. Austrocylindropuntia, Corynopuntia and Micropuntia are also often included in the present genus, but like Cylindropuntia they seem rather well distinct. Brasiliopuntia and Miqueliopuntia are closer relatives of Opuntia.

The most commonly culinary species is the Indian Fig Opuntia (O. ficus-indica). Most culinary uses of the term 'prickly pear' refer to this species. Prickly pears are also known as tuna, nopal or nopales, from the Nahuatl word nōpalli for the pads, or nostle, from the Nahuatl word nōchtli for the fruit; or paddle cactus (from the resemblance to the ball-and-paddle toy). They are native to Mexico.

Prickly pear cacti typically grow with flat, rounded platyclades that are armed with two kinds of spines; large, smooth, fixed spines and small, hairlike spines called glochids that easily penetrate skin and detach from the plant. Many types of prickly pears grow into dense, tangled structures.

Like all true cactus species, prickly pears are native only to the Western hemisphere; however, they have been introduced to other parts of the globe.

Opuntia are the most cold-tolerant of the lowland cacti, extending into western and southern Canada; one subspecies, Opuntia fragilis var. fragilis, has been found growing along the Beatton River in central British Columbia, southwest of Cecil Lake at 56° 17’ N latitude and 120° 39’ W longitude.^[2] Prickly Pears also give a fruit that is commonly eaten in Mexico, known as "Tuna", also used to make Aguas frescas. The fruit can be red, wine-red, green or yellow-orange.

Charles Darwin was the first to note that these cacti have thigmotactic anthers: when the anthers are touched, they curl over, depositing their pollen. This movement can be seen by gently poking the anthers of an open Opuntia flower. The same trait has evolved convergently in other cacti (e.g. Lophophora).

Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Nopalea (from the Mexican name of the cochineal cactus). Cactaceae. A genus of 4 or 5 species, often placed with the opuntias, but differing from the latter in having erect petals, and stamens and style exsert beyond the perianth, as well as in some minor details. Natives of Trop. Amer. N. coccinellifera, Salm- Dyck (N. inaperta, Schott). An arborescent, flat- stemmed plant, with a somewhat cylindrical trunk 6-10 in. diam., widely grown in semi-tropical countries, but rarely found in the U. S., and then only in the largest collections of cacti. It is chiefly interesting in being one of the important food-plants of the cochineal insect. B.M. 2741. 2742 (as Cactus cochinellifer). N. guatemalensis and N. lutea are 2 recently described species from Guatemala which have been intro. into cult. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

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Species

Selected species== Opuntia hybridizes readily between species.^[3] This can make classification difficult. Also, not all species listed here may actually belong into this genus.