| Opuntia stricta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| With fruits | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Genus: | Opuntia |
| Species: | O. stricta |
| Binomial name | |
| Opuntia stricta | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
Synonymy
| |
Opuntia stricta is a species of largecactus that is native to subtropical and tropical coastal areas of the Americas, especially around the Caribbean and the lower East Coast of the United States.[2] Common names includeerect prickly pear andnopal estricto (Spanish).[4] The first description asCactus strictus was published in 1803 byAdrian Hardy Haworth. In 1812 he moved the species to the genusOpuntia.
It is a shrubby, erect plant, extending lengthwise to somewhat upright and reach heights of growth up to 2 m (6.6 ft) in height, producing lemon yellow flowers in the spring and summer, followed by purplish-red fruits. It is quick to colonize hot, open environments with sandy soils. The blue-green shoot sections are bald, flattened,ovate to inverted egg-shaped, and are tapered at the base. They are 25 to 64 cm (10 to 25 inches) long and 15 to 64 cm (6 to 25 inches) inches wide. The brownishareoles are far apart leaving most of the epidermis, with often one or more yellowish spines, at least near the edges and towards theapex. They carry striking, yellowglochids that are 2 to 6 mm (0.079 to 0.236 inches) long. The 1 to 5 awl-shaped spur is flattened, provided with a light barb at the topthorns are yellow. They are perpendicular to the surface of the shoots and are 1.3 to 12.7 cm (0.5 to 5 inches) long.[5]
The yellow to yellowish orange flowers, which are solitary and formed by numerous membranous parts, reach a length of 13 to 15 cm (5 to 6 inches) and a diameter of 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches). The flowers areephemeral and melliferous. The purple-red, smooth fruits are inverted-egg-shaped and tapered at the base. They are 6.4 to 8.9 cm (2.5 to 3.5 inches) inches long and covered with plenty of glochids and are more or less pyriform, always purple in color, 4 to 6 cm (1.6 to 2.4 inches) in length and contain from 60 to 180 seeds (which may remain viable for more than 10 years), yellow to light brown, incorporated into the fruit pulp. As fruits are appreciated by birds and mammals, their seeds are dispersed by animals. Themucilage inside the leaves is used to treat burns andabscesses. It is edible in the same way as fruits.[6]
Opuntia stricta occurs naturally in coastal beach scrub and sandy coastal environments inSouth Carolina,Georgia,Florida,Louisiana along the Gulf Coast inTexas,Mississippi, andAlabama in the United States, as well asBermuda, theCaribbean, eastern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America (Venezuela andEcuador). It is a major component in the understory ofBahamian dry forests in theBahamas and theTurks and Caicos Islands.[7]
Opuntia stricta is listed in the IUCN's "List of the world's 100 worst invasive species".[8]Opuntia stricta has beenintroduced to other parts of the world, including Africa (includingMadagascar),[9] Australia and southern Asia.Opuntia stricta is considered aninvasive species inSouth Africa andKenya.[10] In Australia it has been the subject of one of the first effective biological control exercises using the mothCactoblastis cactorum.[2] It was declared a Weed of National Significance by the Australian Weeds Committee in April 2012, but continues to be kept under control by the use of theCactoblastis moth and a cochineal insect,Dactylopius opuntiae.[11]
In Sri Lanka it has overgrown a 30 kilometres (20 mi) long coastal area betweenHambantota andYala National Park, especially inBundala National Park, aRamsar wetland site. It has overgrown several hundreds of hectares (acres) of sand dune areas and adjoining scrub forests and pasture lands. Some areas are so densely covered that they are completely inaccessible for humans and animals. The seeds are spread by macaque monkeys, and perhaps other animals and birds that eat the large fruits. It is also spread by people cutting down the cactus but leaving the cuttings, which then re-sprout where they have fallen. No control measures have been carried out except some costly manual removal of about 10 hectares (25 acres) on the dunes near Bundala village. The cactus is due to invade Yala National Park.[12]
The opposite problem has been encountered in Texas, whereCactoblastis cactorum was first found inBrazoria County in 2017. This species of moth is highly destructive to this (and other) species of cactus native to the southern United States and northern Mexico.[13]
Media related toOpuntia stricta at Wikimedia Commons
