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:
| Image | Flower | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution | Cytology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Opuntia abjecta Small ex Britton & Rose | Florida (Keys) | 2n = 22, 2n = 44 | |
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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 | ||||
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Opuntia arechavaletae Speg. | S. Brazil to NE. Argentina | |||
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Opuntia atrispina Griffiths | SW. Texas to Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila) | 2n = 22, 2n = 44 | |
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Opuntia auberi Pfeiff. | Mexico to Central America, Cuba. | |||
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Opuntia aurantiaca Lindl. | 2n = 44 | | ||
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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 | |||
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Opuntia austrina Small | Central Florida | |||
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Opuntia azurea Rose | NE. Mexico (to Veracruz and Jalisco) | 2n = 22 | |
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Opuntia basilaris Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow | beavertail cactus | SW. U.S.A. to Mexico (Baja California Norte, Sonora) | 2n=22 |
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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 | ||||
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Opuntia caracassana Salm-Dyck | S. Caribbean to Colombia | 2n = 22 | |
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Opuntia cespitosa Raf. | SE. Canada to E. Central & E. U.S.A. | |||
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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 | |||
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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) | ||||
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Opuntia cochenillifera (L.) Mill. | Mexico. | ||
| Opuntia crassa Haw. | Mexico (México State to Guanajuato). | 2n = 88 | |||
| Opuntia crystalenia Griffiths | Mexico (Tabasco) | ||||
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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 | ||||
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Opuntia decumbens Salm-Dyck | El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Central, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá | |||
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Opuntia dejecta Salm-Dyck | Mexico to Nicaragua, Cuba | ||
| Opuntia delafuentiana Martínez-Gonz., Luna-Vega, Gallegos & García-Sand. | Mexico (Hidalgo) | ||||
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Opuntia depressa Rose | SW. & Central Mexico (to Veracruz) | |||
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Opuntia diploursina Stock, N.Hussey & Beckstrom | Grand Canyon and Lake Mead National Recreation Area | 2n=22 | ||
| Opuntia discolor Britton & Rose | Bolivia to N. Argentina | ||||
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Opuntia drummondii Graham | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas | |||
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Opuntia dulcis Engelm. | New Mexico to W. Texas. | 2n = 66 | ||
| Opuntia eichlamii Rose | Mexico (Chiapas) to Guatemala | 2n = 66 | |||
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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 | |||
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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 |
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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) | ||||
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Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. | Indian fig opuntia | Mexico (Oaxaca) | 2n = 22 |
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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 |
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Opuntia fuliginosa Griffiths | Mexico | 2n = 88 | ||
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Opuntia galapageia Hensl. | Galápagos prickly pear | Galápagos Islands | 2n = 66 |
| Opuntia gallegiana Scheinvar & Olalde | Mexico (Zacatecas). | ||||
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Opuntia gosseliniana F.A.C.Weber | violet prickly pear | Arizona to Mexico (Sonora) | 2n = 22 |
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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 | ||||
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Opuntia howeyi J.A.Purpus | Mexico (Zacatecas) | |||
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Opuntia huajuapensis Bravo | Mexico (Veracruz, Puebla, Oaxaca) | |||
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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 |
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Opuntia hyptiacantha F.A.C.Weber | Mexico. | 2n = 66 | |
| Opuntia inaequilateralis A.Berger | Peru. | 2n = 66 | |||
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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) | ||||
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Opuntia lasiacantha Pfeiff. | Mexico | 2n = 88 | |
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Opuntia leucotricha DC. | arborescent prickly pear, Aaron's beard cactus, semaphore cactus, Duraznillo blanco, nopal blanco | N. & W. Mexico | 2n = 44 |
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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 | |||
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Opuntia macrocentra Engelm. | black-spined prickly pear, purple prickly pear | southwest USA and northern Mexico | 2n = 22 |
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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 | ||||
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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) | ||||
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Opuntia microdasys (Lehm.) Pfeiff. | bunny ears cactus, polka-dot cactus | Mexico | 2n = 22 |
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Opuntia militaris Britton & Rose | Cuba | |||
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Opuntia monacanthos (Willd.) Haw. | common prickly pear | Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay | |
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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 | |||
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Opuntia orbiculata Salm-Dyck ex Pfeiff. | United States (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas), Mexico | 2n = 22, 2n = 44 | ||
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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) | ||||
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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 |
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Opuntia pilifera F.A.C.Weber | Central Mexico (to Oaxaca) | 2n = 88 | ||
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Opuntia pinkavae B.D.Parfitt | Pinkava prickly pear | SW. Utah to NW. Arizona | 2n=88 |
| Opuntia pittieri Britton & Rose | Colombia | ||||
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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 |
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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 | |||
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Opuntia pubescens H.L.Wendl. ex Pfeiff. | Mexico to Venezuela and Paraguay | 2n = 44 | ||
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Opuntia pycnantha Engelm. | Mexico (Baja California Sur) | |||
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Opuntia quimilo K.Schum. | Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay | 2n = 22 | |
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Opuntia quitensis F.A.C.Weber | Red Buttons opuntia | Colombia, Ecuador, Peru | 2n=22, 2n =44 |
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Opuntia rastrera F.A.C.Weber | Mexico (to Veracruz and Jalisco) | 2n = 66 | ||
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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 | ||||
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Opuntia robusta H.L.Wendl. ex Pfeiff. | Mexico | 2n = 22, 2n = 44 | |
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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 | |||
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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). | ||||
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Opuntia soederstromiana Britton & Rose | Colombia, Ecuador | 2n = 88 | ||
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Opuntia spinosibacca M.S.Anthony | SW. Texas to Mexico (Coahuila) | ||
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Opuntia spinulifera Salm-Dyck | E. & Central Mexico | |||
| Opuntia stenarthra K.Schum. | E. Bolivia to Central Paraguay and NE. Argentina | ||||
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Opuntia stenopetala Engelm. | NE. Mexico (to Veracruz) | ||
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Opuntia streptacantha Lem. | Mexico to Guatemala | ||
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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 | |||
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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) | ||||
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Opuntia tomentosa Salm-Dyck | Mexico to Honduras | ||
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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. | ||||
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Opuntia tuna (L.) Mill. | Mexico, S. Jamaica | 2n = 44 | |
| Opuntia tunoidea Gibbes | Coastal South Carolina | ||||
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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
| Image | Flower | Scientific name | Parentage | Distribution | Cytology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Opuntia × aequatorialis Britton & Rose | O. pubescens × O. soederstromiana | Ecuador | ||
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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 | |||
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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 | |||
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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 | |||
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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 |
References
- "Plants of the World Online". Plants of the World Online. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
- Majure, Lucas C.; Puente, Raul; Pinkava, Donald J. (2012). "Miscellaneous Chromosome Numbers in Opuntieae Dc. (Cactaceae) with a Compilation of Counts for the Group". Haseltonia. 18: 67–78. doi:10.2985/026.018.0109. ISSN 1070-0048.