# List of Opuntia species

List of Opuntia species.
The genus Opuntia is within the tribe Opuntieae of the subfamily Opuntioideae, in the family Cactaceae.

## List

Species of Opuntia currently accepted, with approximate native ranges, include:
| Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution | Cytology |
| Opuntia abjecta Small ex Britton & Rose | | Florida (Keys) | 2n = 22, 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia aciculata Griffiths | Chenille prickly pear, old man's whiskers, cowboy's red whiskers | Texas to Mexico (Nuevo León) | 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia altomagdalenensis Xhonneux | | Colombia | |
| Opuntia amarilla Griffiths | | Mexico (Guanajuato to Hidalgo) | 2n = 88 |
| Opuntia anahuacensis Griffiths | | Texas | |
| Opuntia arechavaletae Speg. | | S. Brazil to NE. Argentina | |
| Opuntia atrispina Griffiths | | SW. Texas to Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila) | 2n = 22, 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia auberi Pfeiff. | | Mexico to Central America, Cuba. | |
| Opuntia aurantiaca Lindl. | | NE. Argentina to Uruguay | 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia aurea E.M.Baxter | | S. Utah to N. Arizona | 2n=66 |
| Opuntia aureispina (S.Brack & K.D.Heil) Pinkava & B.D.Parfitt | | SW. Texas to Mexico (Coahuila) | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia austrina Small | | Central Florida | |
| Opuntia azurea Rose | | NE. Mexico (to Veracruz and Jalisco) | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia basilaris Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow | beavertail cactus | SW. U.S.A. to Mexico (Baja California Norte, Sonora) | 2n=22 |
| Opuntia bonaerensis Speg. | | Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) to NE. Argentina | |
| Opuntia bonplandii (Kunth) F.A.C.Weber | | Ecuador. | 2n = 88 |
| Opuntia bravoana E.M.Baxter | | Mexico (Baja California Sur) | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia caboensis F.Mercado & León de la Luz | | Mexico (Baja California Sur). | |
| Opuntia camanchica Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow | | SE. California to W. Oklahoma and W. & S. Texas | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia canterae Arechav. | | SW. & S. Uruguay | |
| Opuntia caracassana Salm-Dyck | | S. Caribbean to Colombia | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia cespitosa Raf. | | SE. Canada to E. Central & E. U.S.A. | |
| Opuntia chaffeyi Britton & Rose | | NE. Mexico | 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia chiangiana Scheinvar & Manzanero | | Mexico (Oaxaca) | |
| Opuntia chisosensis (M.S.Anthony) D.J.Ferguson | | Texas to Mexico (Coahuila) | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia chlorotica Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow | pancake prickly pear | native to southwest USA and the Sonoran and Mojave deserts | 2n=22 |
| Opuntia clarkiorum Rebman | | Mexico (Baja California Norte) | |
| Opuntia cochenillifera (L.) Mill. | | Mexico. | |
| Opuntia crassa Haw. | | Mexico (México State to Guanajuato). | 2n = 88 |
| Opuntia crystalenia Griffiths | | Mexico (Tabasco) | |
| Opuntia cubensis Britton & Rose | | Cuba | 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia curassavica (L.) Mill. | | Caribbean to N. Venezuela | |
| Opuntia curvispina Griffiths | | S. Nevada to SE. California and W. & N. Arizona. | 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia deamii Rose | | Mexico (Chiapas) to Honduras | |
| Opuntia decumbens Salm-Dyck | | El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Central, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá | |
| Opuntia dejecta Salm-Dyck | | Mexico to Nicaragua, Cuba | |
| Opuntia delafuentiana Martínez-Gonz., Luna-Vega, Gallegos & García-Sand. | | Mexico (Hidalgo) | |
| Opuntia depressa Rose | | SW. & Central Mexico (to Veracruz) | |
| Opuntia diploursina Stock, N.Hussey & Beckstrom | | Grand Canyon and Lake Mead National Recreation Area | 2n=22 |
| Opuntia discolor Britton & Rose | | Bolivia to N. Argentina | |
| Opuntia drummondii Graham | | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas | |
| Opuntia dulcis Engelm. | | New Mexico to W. Texas. | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia eichlamii Rose | | Mexico (Chiapas) to Guatemala | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia elata Link & Otto ex Salm-Dyck | | S. Bolivia to Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) and N. to Argentina | 2n = 22, 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia elatior Mill. | | S. Caribbean, Costa Rica to Venezuela | 2n = 22, 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia elizondoana E.Sánchez & Villaseñor | | Mexico (Guanajuato to San Luis Potosí). | 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia engelmannii Salm-Dyck ex Engelm. | Engelmann's prickly pear, cow's-tongue prickly pear, desert prickly pear, discus prickly pear, Texas prickly pear, calico cactu | Arizona, California, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Mexico | 2n=66 |
| Opuntia erinacea Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow | | California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and N. Mexico | |
| Opuntia escuintlensis (Matuda) Lodé | | Mexico (Chiapas) | |
| Opuntia excelsa Sánchez-Mej. | | Mexico (to Sinaloa) | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia feroacantha Britton & Rose | | Mexico (Sinaloa to Michoacán) | |
| Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. | Indian fig opuntia | Mexico (Oaxaca) | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia fragilis (Nutt.) Haw. | little prickly pear, brittle cactus | the Great Plains, parts of the Midwest and in several Canadian provinces, up to 56°N | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia fuliginosa Griffiths | | Mexico | 2n = 88 |
| Opuntia galapageia Hensl. | Galápagos prickly pear | Galápagos Islands | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia gallegiana Scheinvar & Olalde | | Mexico (Zacatecas). | |
| Opuntia gosseliniana F.A.C.Weber | violet prickly pear | Arizona to Mexico (Sonora) | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia guatemalensis Britton & Rose | | Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (Veracruz, Oaxaca), Nicaragua | |
| Opuntia guilanchi Griffiths | | Mexico | |
| Opuntia hitchcockii J.G.Ortega | | Mexico (Sinaloa, Nayarit) | |
| Opuntia hondurensis Standl. | | Honduras | |
| Opuntia howeyi J.A.Purpus | | Mexico (Zacatecas) | |
| Opuntia huajuapensis Bravo | | Mexico (Veracruz, Puebla, Oaxaca) | |
| Opuntia humifusa (Raf.) Raf. | eastern prickly pear | humid regions of Eastern United States and northerly regions into Canada, Mexico (Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí) | n = 22, 2n=44 |
| Opuntia hyptiacantha F.A.C.Weber | | Mexico. | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia inaequilateralis A.Berger | | Peru. | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia inaperta (Schott ex Griffiths) D.R.Hunt | | SE. Mexico (to Veracruz) | |
| Opuntia jaliscana Bravo | | Mexico | |
| Opuntia jamaicensis Britton & Harris | | Jamaica | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia kingstoniana Guiggi | | Jamaica. | |
| Opuntia lagunae E.M.Baxter | | Mexico (Baja California Sur) | |
| Opuntia lasiacantha Pfeiff. | | Mexico | 2n = 88 |
| Opuntia leucotricha DC. | arborescent prickly pear, Aaron's beard cactus, semaphore cactus, Duraznillo blanco, nopal blanco | N. & W. Mexico | 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia littoralis (Engelm.) Cockerell | coastal prickly pear, sprawling prickly pear | California to Mexico (Baja California Norte) | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia lutea (Rose) D.R.Hunt | | Mexico (Oaxaca, Chiapas), Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua | |
| Opuntia mackensenii Rose | | Texas | 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia macrocentra Engelm. | black-spined prickly pear, purple prickly pear | southwest USA and northern Mexico | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia macrorhiza Engelm. | Plains prickly pear | Great Plains except for the northernmost areas (not found in North Dakota), and extending sporadically eastward as far as Kentucky | 2n = 22, 2n=44 |
| Opuntia mantaroensis Guiggi | | Peru | |
| Opuntia martiniana (L.D.Benson) B.D.Parfitt | | Arizona | |
| Opuntia matudae Scheinvar | xoconostle | Mexico | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia maxima Mill. | | Central & SW. Mexico | |
| Opuntia megacantha Salm-Dyck | | Mexico (to Jalisco) | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia megapotamica Arechav. | | Argentina, Brazil , Uruguay | |
| Opuntia megarrhiza Rose | | Mexico (Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí) | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia mesacantha Raf. | | United States (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia) | |
| Opuntia microdasys (Lehm.) Pfeiff. | bunny ears cactus, polka-dot cactus | Mexico | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia militaris Britton & Rose | | Cuba | |
| Opuntia monacanthos (Willd.) Haw. | common prickly pear | Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay | |
| Opuntia nemoralis Griffiths | | United States (Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas) | |
| Opuntia nicholii L.D.Benson | | United States (Arizona, Nevada, Utah ) | |
| Opuntia ochrocentra Small ex Britton & Rose | | Florida (Big Pine Key) | 2n = 55 |
| Opuntia orbiculata Salm-Dyck ex Pfeiff. | | United States (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas), Mexico | 2n = 22, 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia oricola Philbrick | | California to Mexico (Baja California Norte) | 2n = 33, 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia pachyrrhiza H.M.Hern., Gómez-Hin. & Bárcenas | | Mexico (Nuevo León, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí) | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia parviclada S.Arias & Gama | | Mexico (Puebla, Oaxaca) | |
| Opuntia peckii J.A.Purpus | | Mexico | |
| Opuntia perotensis Scheinvar, Olalde & Gallegos | | Mexico (Veracruz) | |
| Opuntia phaeacantha Engelm. | tulip prickly pear, includes plateau prickly pear, brown-spined prickly pear, Mojave prickly pear, Kingman prickly pear | United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah), Mexico | 2n=66 |
| Opuntia pilifera F.A.C.Weber | | Central Mexico (to Oaxaca) | 2n = 88 |
| Opuntia pinkavae B.D.Parfitt | Pinkava prickly pear | SW. Utah to NW. Arizona | 2n=88 |
| Opuntia pittieri Britton & Rose | | Colombia | |
| Opuntia polyacantha Haw. | Plains prickly pear, Starvation Prickly pear, Panhandle prickly pear | the Great Plains, Great Basin, Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau, and the Rocky Mountains | 2n=22, 2n=44 |
| Opuntia pottsii Salm-Dyck | | SE. Arizona to W. Texas and NE. Mexico | 2n = 44 , 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia preciadoae Scheinvar, Olalde, Gallegos & J.Morales S. | | N. Mexico | |
| Opuntia puberula Pfeiff. | | Mexico to Guatemala | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia pubescens H.L.Wendl. ex Pfeiff. | | Mexico to Venezuela and Paraguay | 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia pycnantha Engelm. | | Mexico (Baja California Sur) | |
| Opuntia quimilo K.Schum. | | Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia quitensis F.A.C.Weber | Red Buttons opuntia | Colombia, Ecuador, Peru | 2n=22, 2n =44 |
| Opuntia rastrera F.A.C.Weber | | Mexico (to Veracruz and Jalisco) | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia repens Bello | | Hispaniola to Virgin Islands | 2n = 22, 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia retrorsa Speg. | | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay | |
| Opuntia ritteri A.Berger | | Mexico (Zacatecas) | |
| Opuntia robinsonii J.G.Ortega | | N. & W. Mexico | |
| Opuntia robusta H.L.Wendl. ex Pfeiff. | | Mexico | 2n = 22, 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia rufida Engelm. | | SW. Texas to NE. Mexico | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia rzedowskii Scheinvar | | Mexico (México D.F.) | 2n = 88 |
| Opuntia sanguinea Proctor | | Jamaica | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia scheeri F.A.C.Weber | | NE. Mexico (to Jalisco) | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia schumannii F.A.C.Weber ex A.Berger | | Colombia, Venezuela | |
| Opuntia setocarpa Arreola-Nava, Guzm.-Hern. & Cuevas | | Mexico (Jalisco) | |
| Opuntia sierralagunensis León de la Luz & F.Mercado | | Mexico (Baja California Sur). | |
| Opuntia soederstromiana Britton & Rose | | Colombia, Ecuador | 2n = 88 |
| Opuntia spinosibacca M.S.Anthony | | SW. Texas to Mexico (Coahuila) | |
| Opuntia spinulifera Salm-Dyck | | E. & Central Mexico | |
| Opuntia stenarthra K.Schum. | | E. Bolivia to Central Paraguay and NE. Argentina | |
| Opuntia stenopetala Engelm. | | NE. Mexico (to Veracruz) | |
| Opuntia streptacantha Lem. | | Mexico to Guatemala | |
| Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw. | erect prickly pear, spineless prickly pear | SE. U.S.A. to E. & S. Mexico | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia strigil Engelm. | | W. Texas to NE. Mexico | 2n = 22, 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia sulphurea G.Don ex Salm-Dyck | | Bolivia to Uruguay. | 2n = 22 |
| Opuntia tapona Engelm. ex J.M.Coult. | | Mexico (Baja California Sur) | |
| Opuntia tehuacana S.Arias & U.Guzmán | | Mexico (Puebla, Oaxaca) | |
| Opuntia tehuantepecana (Bravo) Bravo | | Mexico (Oaxaca, Chiapas). | |
| Opuntia tezontepecana Gallegos & Scheinvar | | Mexico (Hidalgo) | |
| Opuntia tomentosa Salm-Dyck | | Mexico to Honduras | |
| Opuntia tortispina Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow | | United States (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming ) | 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia triacanthos (Willd.) Sweet | | Puerto Rico to Lesser Antilles. | |
| Opuntia tuna (L.) Mill. | | Mexico, S. Jamaica | 2n = 44 |
| Opuntia tunoidea Gibbes | | Coastal South Carolina | |
| Opuntia velutina F.A.C.Weber | | Mexico. | |
| Opuntia wilcoxii Britton & Rose | | Mexico | |
| Opuntia zacuapanensis A.Berger | | Mexico (Veracruz) | |
| Opuntia zamudioi Scheinvar | | Mexico (Querétaro, San Luis Potosí) | 2n = 88 |

### Natural Hybrids

| Scientific name | Parentage | Distribution |
| Opuntia × aequatorialis Britton & Rose | O. pubescens × O. soederstromiana | Ecuador |
| Opuntia × alta Griffiths | O. engelmannii var. lindheimeri × O. stricta | SE. Texas to SW. Louisiana |
| Opuntia × andersonii H.M.Hern., Gómez-Hin. & Bárcenas | O. engelmannii × O. microdasys | NE. Mexico |
| Opuntia × carstenii R.Puente & C.Hamann | O. microdasys × O. stenopetala | Mexico (Coahuila) |
| Opuntia × charlestonensis Clokey | O. phaeacantha × O. polyacantha var erinacea. | Nevada |
| Opuntia × cochinera Griffiths | O. microdasys × O. stenopetala | Mexico (Coahuila) |
| Opuntia × coloradensis D.J.Barnett & Donnie Barnett | O. fragilis × O. polyacantha var. hystricina. | Colorado |
| Opuntia × columbiana Griffiths | O. fragilis × O. polyacantha | W. Canada to NW. U.S.A |
| Opuntia × cristalensis Oakley, Font & M.Köhler | O. elata var. obovata × O. ficus-indica. | Argentina |
| Opuntia × debreczyi Szutorisz | O. fragilis × O. polyacantha. | SW. Wyoming to NW. New Mexico |
| Opuntia × demissa Griffiths | O. littoralis × O. oricola | California |
| Opuntia × occidentalis Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow | O. engelmannii × O. littoralis × O. phaeacantha. | SW. California to Mexico (Baja California) |
| Opuntia × rooneyi M.P.Griff. | O. aureispina × O. macrocentra. | SW. Texas |
| Opuntia × vaseyi (J.M.Coult.) Britton & Rose | O. aurea × O. pinkavae | SW. Utah |
| Opuntia × woodburyi (W.H.Earle ex S.L.Welsh) Stock | O. littoralis × O. phaeacantha | SW. California |