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- ›Opuntia phaeacantha
sweet pricklypear
Opuntia dulcis
Opuntia dulcis has been described as a variety of, and is confused with, O. phaeacantha. However, O. dulcis is a larger plant with ascending branches, to 2 ft (exceptionally 4 ft). While it is a larger plant, immature specimens of O. dulcis may overlap in size with O. phaeacantha.
From the article Opuntia dulcis on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The plant O. dulcis has been described as a variety of, and is confused with, O. phaeacantha. However, O. dulcis is a larger plant with ascending branches, to 2 ft (exceptionally 4 ft). While it is a larger plant, immature specimens of O. dulcis may overlap in size with O. phaeacantha. Opuntia dulcis resembles O. engelmannii in some ways but does not become as erect or large as that species. Also, the spines of O. dulcis are finer than those of O. engelmannii.
Range & habitat
O. dulcis is found across the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is common in Trans-Pecos Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. It has been observed in the mountains of southern Nevada.
Wikipedia: “Distribution and habitat”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Opuntia dulcis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 461603.