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Cactus are as evocative of the West as Sagebrush; the two even often grow near each other. Cactus are indigenous to the Western Hemisphere, are found in their greatest concentration along the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and are native to every American state except Vermont and Maine. They are found in deserts, on seashores, in mountains, on plains, balds, and glades. Cactus come in a number of shapes, their flowers are often very large and attractive, their fruits are edible (some delicious, some not so), and they have evolved a number of structures and processes that make them perfectly at home in what we humans usually call "a hostile environment": They have a tough, waxy outer layer that reduces moisture loss; they produce chlorophyll not in leaves but in the outer cells of the stems; they convert absorbed water into a mucilaginous liquid that can be stored in large quantities in tissues capable of expanding; many Cactus root easily into new plants from broken pads/stems of older plants. "Cactus" is Greek for "prickly plant"; the word was used by Linnaeus in the 18th century to describe a prickly, thistle-like member of the Asteraceae Family found in Italy. "Cactus" was then used in the 19th century for the newly discovered spiny, drought resistant plants discovered in the Western Hemisphere. |
Since flower color in both Opuntia phaeacantha and Opuntia polyacantha ranges from shades of yellow to copper-yellow to pink to magenta, flower color cannot be used to distinguish between the two species. The spines and glochids of the fruit, seed texture, spine shape, and spine spacing are key distinguishing characteristics. Lower pads of a number of Cacti (including Opuntia polyacantha and Opuntia phaeacantha) often sprawl on the ground, soil accumulates on the uphill side of the pads, and they are often buried. New pads grow on the higher soil level. The name "Opuntia" was used by Theophrastus for a plant, not in the Cactus Family, which grew near the Greek town of Opus. Somehow "Opuntia" was centuries later applied to this genus of Cacti. |
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This
page has the Opuntia genus of the Cactaceae Family. |
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Opuntia
phaeacantha
(Prickly Pear Cactus) Cactaceae (Cactus Family) Semi-desert, foothills. Openings. Spring,
summer. Yellow flowers and red fruit.
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Opuntia
phaeacantha (Prickly Pear Cactus) Cactaceae (Cactus Family) Semi-desert, foothills. Openings. Spring,
summer. |
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Opuntia
phaeacantha (Prickly Pear Cactus) Cactaceae (Cactus Family) Semi-desert, foothills. Openings. Spring,
summer. |