Taxon: Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw.

Summary

Genus:

Opuntia

Family:

Cactaceae

Subfamily:

Opuntioideae

Tribe:

Opuntieae

Nomen number:

25872

Place of publication:

Syn. pl. succ. 191. 1812

Verified:

04/17/2012 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

4 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw. var. dillenii (Ker Gawl.) L. D. Benson (0 active accession[s])
Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw. var. stricta (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Cactus strictus Haw.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Opuntia vulgaris Mill. var. balearica F. A. C. Weber

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98
Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family 520.
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Backeberg, C. 1977. Das Kakteenlexikon 331.
Benson, L. 1982. The cacti of the United States and Canada 931.
Bravo-Hollis, H. & H. Sánchez-Mejorada. 1978. Las Cactáceas de México, vol. 1 - 1978, vols. 2,3 - 1991 278-280.
Castroviejo, S. et al., eds. 1989-. Flora iberica: plantas vasculares de la Peninsula Iberica e Islas Baleares.
CITES. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices I, II and III (on-line resource).
Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
Dyer, R. A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flora of southern Africa.
Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage
Figueiredo, E. & G. F. Smith. 2008. Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Henderson, L. 2001. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Hosking, J. R. et al. 1988. Distribution and biological control of cactus species in eastern Australia. Pl. Protect. Quart. 3:120.
Humphries, T. et al. 2022. Challenges inherent in controlling Prickly Pear species; a global review of the properties of Opuntia stricta, Opuntia ficus-indica and Opuntia monacantha. Plants. OAJ. 11:3334. DOI: 10.3390/plants11233334.
Hunt, D. et al., eds. 2006. The new cactus lexicon
Hunt, D. 1992. CITES Cactaceae checklist
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
León (J. S. Sauget) & Alain (E. E. Liogier). 1946-1969. Flora de Cuba
Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.
Paterson, I. D. et al. 2021. Biological control of Cactaceae in South Africa. African Entomol. 29:713-734. DOI: 10.4001/003.029.0713. Note: succeeds Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Taylor, N. & D. Zappi. 2004. Cacti of eastern Brazil Note: = Opuntia dillenii
The Missouri Botanical Garden with others. A Catalogue of the vascular plants of Madagascar (on-line resource).
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds

Common names

Language	Name	Alternate name	note	seq	Citation
English	erect prickly-pear			1	Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí		Hunt, D. et al., eds. 2006. The new cactus lexicon
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Hunt, D. et al., eds. 2006. The new cactus lexicon
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Alabama		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida	http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/main.asp?plantID=3595	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Georgia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana	s.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	South Carolina		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Virginia	Isle of Wight Co.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche		Hunt, D. et al., eds. 2006. The new cactus lexicon
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Querétaro		Hunt, D. et al., eds. 2006. The new cactus lexicon
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Quintana Roo		Hunt, D. et al., eds. 2006. The new cactus lexicon
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Hunt, D. et al., eds. 2006. The new cactus lexicon
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Hunt, D. et al., eds. 2006. The new cactus lexicon
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán		Hunt, D. et al., eds. 2006. The new cactus lexicon
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Bahamas			Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Barbados			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Bermuda			George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cayman Islands			Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cuba			León (J. S. Sauget) & Alain (E. E. Liogier). 1946-1969. Flora de Cuba
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Dominican Republic			Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Grenada			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica			Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Netherlands Antilles			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Virgin Islands, U.S.		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Virgin Islands (British)			Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador			Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
2	Cultivated					also cult.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias		Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
4	Naturalized	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Figueiredo, E. & G. F. Smith. 2008. Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Madagascar
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Saudi Arabia			Miller, A. G. & T. A. Cope. 1996-. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen			Miller, A. G. & T. A. Cope. 1996-. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		s.e.	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	New Caledonia			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil			Forzza, R. C. et al., coord. Lista de espécies da flora do Brasil (on-line resource).

Native
Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama, Florida (http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/main.asp?plantID=3595), Georgia, Louisiana (s.), South Carolina, Virginia (Isle of Wight Co.)]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Netherlands Antilles, Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, United States [Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, U.S.], Virgin Islands (British)
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador

Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized
Africa

MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias]
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Saudi Arabia, Yemen
CHINA: China

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia

Europe

SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: France (s.e.)

Pacific

SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: New Caledonia

Southern America

BRAZIL: Brazil

Reference(s)

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98
Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
Figueiredo, E. & G. F. Smith. 2008. Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Forzza, R. C. et al., coord. Lista de espécies da flora do Brasil (on-line resource).
George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Hunt, D. et al., eds. 2006. The new cactus lexicon
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
León (J. S. Sauget) & Alain (E. E. Liogier). 1946-1969. Flora de Cuba
Miller, A. G. & T. A. Cope. 1996-. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	ornamental		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Medicines	folklore	as Opuntia dillenii	Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family 495. Note: as Opuntia dillenii
Weed			Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.
Weed			Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family 520.
Weed			Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Weed			Henderson, L. 2001. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12
Weed			Humphries, T. et al. 2022. Challenges inherent in controlling Prickly Pear species; a global review of the properties of Opuntia stricta, Opuntia ficus-indica and Opuntia monacantha. Plants. OAJ. 11:3334. DOI: 10.3390/plants11233334.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=25872. Accessed 15 April 2026.