Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (5/21/15):
Opuntia cespitosa
FAMILY
Cactaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read about the Taxonomic revision of the Opuntia humifusa complex, including maps and photographs.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Opuntia humifusa
FAMILY
Cactaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Opuntia humifusa var. humifusa
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 132-01-001?:
Opuntia compressa
FAMILY
Cactaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Opuntia opuntia
COMMON NAME:
Common Eastern Prickly Pear
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_o_humifusa_humifusa
May
Tepals yellow w red/maroon bases (vs. O. humifusa & mesacantha entirely yellow, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_opuntia_humifusa_18
May
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_o_humifusa_humif
June
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (5/21/15):
Opuntia cespitosa
FAMILY
Cactaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Opuntia humifusa
FAMILY
Cactaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Opuntia humifusa var. humifusa
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 132-01-001?:
Opuntia compressa
FAMILY
Cactaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Opuntia opuntia
4211
Shrub
Perennial
Native to Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA - -
Rare in GA
Look for it on limestone and chalk outcrops, dolomite outcrops, glades, sandy or blackland prairies, upland hardwood or mixed hardwood-pine forests in dry, clay soils, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Cladodes armed with glochids (hair-like spines or short prickles) & spines
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellow
with red or maroon bases
Bisexual or sometimes functionally staminate
Radially symmetrical
Numerous tepals (usually)
Numerous stamens (usually)
Inferior ovary
FRUIT:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
Purple/ Reddish-brown
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses p404?
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p153
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p051
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p073