Opuntia

***Opuntia*** is a genus in the cactus faimily, Cactaceae.

## Taxonomy
When Carl Linnaeus published *[[Species Plantarum]]* in 1753 – the stairtin pynt for modren botanical nomenclatur – he placed aw the species o cactus kent tae him in ane genus, *Cactus*. In 1754, the Scots botanist Philip Miller dividit cacti intae several genera, includin *Opuntia*. He distinguished the genus lairgely on the form o its flouers an fruits.

### Selectit species
*Opuntia* hybridizes readily atween species. This can mak clessification difficult.  An aa, nae aw species leetit here mey actually alang in this genus.

* *[[Opuntia aciculata]]* – Chenille prickly peir , auld man's whiskers, cowboy’s reid whiskers
* *[[Opuntia anacantha]]*
* *[[Opuntia arenaria]]* Dune pricklypear; Diploid (2n=22)
* *[[Opuntia articulata]]*
* *[[Opuntia atrispina]]*
* *[[Opuntia auberi]]*
* *[[Opuntia aurantiaca]]*
* *[[Opuntia aurea]]* Hexaploid (2n=66)
* *[[Opuntia basilaris]]* – Beavertail cactus; Diploid (2n=22)
* *[[Opuntia boldinghii]]*
* *[[Opuntia chaffeyi]]*
* *[[Opuntia chlorotica]]* – pancake prickly peir; native tae southwest USA an the Sonoran an Mojave deserts; Diploid (2n=22)
* *[[Opuntia clavata]]*
* *[[Opuntia cochenillifera]]*
* *[[Opuntia comonduensis]]*
* *[[Opuntia curvospina]]*  Tetraploid (2n=44)
* *[[Opuntia decumana]]*
* *[[Opuntia decumbens]]* – *nopal de culebra*
* *[[Opuntia dejecta]]*
* *[[Opuntia diploursina]]* - Found aroond Grand Canyon an Lake Mead Naitional Recreation Area; Diploid (2n=22)
* *Opuntia echinocarpa* - see *[[Cylindropuntia echinocarpa]]*
* *[[Opuntia echios]]
** *Opuntia echios* var. *gigantea* – Galápagos prickly peir, [[Galápagos Islands]]
* *Opuntia elata*
* *Opuntia elatior* <small>Mill.</small> – syn. *O. bergeriana*
* *Opuntia engelmannii* – Engelmann's prickly peir, cow's-tongue prickly peir, desert prickly peir, discus prickly peir, Texas prickly peir, calico cactus; Hexaploid (2n=66)
* *Opuntia erinacea* Tetraploid (2n=44)
* *Opuntia exaltata*
* *Opuntia excelsa*
* *Opuntia ficus-barbarica*
* *Opuntia ficus-indica* – Indian fig opuntia
* *Opuntia fragilis* – little prickly peir, brittle cactus, foond in the Great Plains an as far wast as [[British Columbia]]
* *Opuntia galapageia*
* *Opuntia gosseliniana* – violet prickly peir
** *Opuntia gosseliniana* var. *santa-rita* – Santa Rita prickly peir
* *Opuntia helleri*
* *Opuntia hickenii*
* *Opuntia humifusa* – eastren prickly peir (whiles included in *O. compressa*); Tetraploid (2n=44)
* *Opuntia hyptiacantha*
* *Opuntia inamoema* <small>K. Schum.</small> – *quipá*
* *Opuntia insularis*
* *Opuntia invicta* syn. *Corynopuntia invicta*, *Grusonia invicta*
* *Opuntia jamaicensis*
* *Opuntia laevis*
* *Opuntia lasiacantha*
* *Opuntia leucotricha* – arborescent prickly peir, Aaron's beard cactus, semaphore cactus, *Duraznillo blanco*, *nopal blanco*
* *Opuntia lindheimeri* – cowtongue prickly peir
* *Opuntia littoralis* – coastal prickly peir, sprawlin prickly peir
* *Opuntia longispina*
* *Opuntia macrocentra* – black-spine prickly peir, purpie prickly peir, foond in southwest USA an northren Mexico
* *Opuntia macrorhiza* – Plains prickly peir, foond throughout the Great Plains except for the northernmost areas (nae foond in [[North Dakota]]), an extendin sporadically eastward as far as [[Kentucky]], syn. *O. leptocarpa* <small>MacKensen</small>, *O. tenuispina* <small>Engelm.</small>, *O. tortispina* <small>Engelm. & Bigelow</small>; Tetraploid (2n=44)
* *Opuntia matudae* – *xoconostle* (syn. *Opuntia joconostle*)
* *Opuntia maldonandensis*
* *Opuntia maxima*
* *Opuntia megacantha*
* *Opuntia megarrhiza*
* *Opuntia microdasys* – bunny lugs cactus, polka-dot cactus
* *Opuntia monacantha* – common prickly peir
* *Opuntia nichollii* - Distributed throughout much o the Colorado Plateau, frae Grand Canyon north tae Price, Utah an east tae the Colorado border; Hexaploid (2n=66)
* *Opuntia oricola*
* *Opuntia ovata*
* *Opuntia paraguayensis*
* *Opuntia phaeacantha* – tulip prickly peir, includes plateau prickly peir, brown-spined prickly peir, Mojave prickly peir, Kingman prickly peir; Hexaploid (2n=66)
* *Opuntia picardoi*
* *Opuntia pinkavae* – Pinkava's prickly peir; Octoploid (2n=88)
* *Opuntia polyacantha* – Panhandle prickly peir, foond in the Great Plains, [[Great Basin]], Mojave Desert, [[Colorado Plateau]], an the [[Rocky Mountains]], syn. *O. rhodantha* <small>K.Schum.</small>; Tetraploid (2n=44)
** *Opuntia polyacantha* var. *arenaria* (syn. *O. erinacea*)
* *Opuntia pubescens* (syn. *O. pascoensis* <small>Britton & Rose</small>)
* *Opuntia pusilla* – creeping cactus, syn. *O. drummondii* <small>Graham</small>
* *Opuntia quitensis* – Red Buttons opuntia (syn. *O. macbridei*, *O. johnsonii*, *Platyopuntia quitensis)
* *[[Opuntia rastrera]]*
* *[[Opuntia repens]]*

* *[[Opuntia robusta]]*
* *[[Opuntia rufida]]* (sometimes included in *O. microdasys*)
* *[[Opuntia schumannii]]*
* *[[Opuntia soehrensii]]*
* *[[Opuntia stenopetala]]* (syn. *O. riviereana* Backeb.)
* *[[Opuntia streptacantha]]*
* *[[Opuntia stricta]]* – erect prickly peir, spineless prickly peir
* *[[Opuntia subulata]]* – foond in Sooth Americae
* *[[Opuntia sulphurea]]*
* *[[Opuntia taylori]]*
* *[[Opuntia tehuantepecana]]* – *nopal de caballo*
* *[[Opuntia tomentosa]]* – woollyjoint prickly peir
* *[[Opuntia triacantha]]*
* *[[Opuntia trichophora]]* Diploid (2n=22)
* *[[Opuntia tuna]]*
* *[[Opuntia velutina]]*
* *[[Opuntia violacea]]*

### Umwhile in ''Opuntia''
* *[[Austrocylindropuntia]]*
* *[[Brasiliopuntia]]*
* *[[Corynopuntia]]*
* *[[Cylindropuntia]]*
* *[[Disocactus phyllanthoides]]* (as *Opuntia speciosa*)
* *[[Micropuntia]]*
* *[[Miqueliopuntia]]*

## References