OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

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Most habitat and range descriptions were obtained from Weakley's Flora.

Your search found 8 taxa in the family Cactaceae, Prickly Pear family, as understood by PLANTS National Database.

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camera icon speaker icon Common Name: Eastern Prickly-pear

Weakley's Flora: (4/24/22) Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha   FAMILY: Cactaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS National Database: Opuntia humifusa   FAMILY: Cactaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968): Opuntia compressa 132-01-001   FAMILY: Cactaceae

 

Habitat: Granite outcrops, coastal dunes and scrub, longleaf pine sandhills, pine forests in sandy soils, Gulf Coast barrier Islands (AL, FL panhandle, MS), riverine sands

Common in Carolina Coastal Plain (uncommon to rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

 


drawing of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. lata, Southern Prickly-pear need picture of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. lata, Southern Prickly-pear need picture Opuntia mesacantha ssp. lata, Southern Prickly-pear need picture of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. lata, Southern Prickly-pear need picture of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. lata, Southern Prickly-pear
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Common Name: Southern Prickly-pear

Weakley's Flora: (4/14/23) Opuntia mesacantha ssp. lata   FAMILY: Cactaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS National Database: Opuntia humifusa   FAMILY: Cactaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968): Opuntia compressa 132-01-001?   FAMILY: Cactaceae

 

Habitat: Coastal dunes and scrub, sandhills, borders of pine flatwoods, scrub, coastal islands (FL, GA, SC), riverine sands

Common in GA, uncommon in SC, rare in NC

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

 


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camera icon Common Name: Common Eastern Prickly-pear

Weakley's Flora: (4/24/22) Opuntia cespitosa   FAMILY: Cactaceae

(?) INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS National Database: Opuntia humifusa   FAMILY: Cactaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968): Opuntia compressa 132-01-001?   FAMILY: Cactaceae

 

Habitat: Limestone and chalk outcrops, dolomite outcrops, glades, sandy or blackland prairies, upland hardwood or mixed hardwood-pine forests in dry, clay soils

Rare in GA Mountains

Native to Georgia

 


drawing of Opuntia humifusa, Eastern Prickly-pear need picture of Opuntia humifusa, Eastern Prickly-pear need picture Opuntia humifusa, Eastern Prickly-pear need picture of Opuntia humifusa, Eastern Prickly-pear need picture of Opuntia humifusa, Eastern Prickly-pear
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Common Name: Eastern Prickly-pear

Weakley's Flora: (4/24/22) Opuntia humifusa   FAMILY: Cactaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS National Database: Opuntia humifusa   FAMILY: Cactaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968): Opuntia compressa 132-01-001?   FAMILY: Cactaceae

 

Habitat: Slate outcrops, sandy soils, upland hardwood forests or mixed pine-hardwood forests in dry, clay or silty soils

Native north of the Carolinas

 


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camera icon speaker icon Common Name: Dune Prickly-pear, Dune Devil-joint, Devils-joint Cactus, Little Prickly-pear

Weakley's Flora: (4/24/22) Opuntia drummondii   FAMILY: Cactaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH (APPARENTLY MISAPPLIED) PLANTS National Database: Opuntia pusilla   FAMILY: Cactaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968): Opuntia drummondii 132-01-002   FAMILY: Cactaceae

 

Habitat: Dunes on barrier islands, less commonly inland on river-associated sands and on granite outcrops

Uncommon

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

 


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Common Name: South American Prickly-pear, Common Prickly-pear, Drooping Prickly-pear

Weakley's Flora: (4/14/23) Opuntia monacantha   FAMILY: Cactaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS National Database: Opuntia monacantha   FAMILY: Cactaceae

INCLUDING & INCLUDED WITHIN Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968): Opuntia vulgaris 132-01-003   FAMILY: Cactaceae

 

Habitat: Disturbed areas, sometimes persistent or escaping from horticultural use

Waif(s)

Non-native: South America

 


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camera icon Common Name: Coastal Prickly-pear, Shell Midden Prickly-pear, Yaaxpakan, Erect Prickly-pear

Weakley's Flora: (4/24/22) Opuntia stricta var. dillenii   FAMILY: Cactaceae

(?) INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS National Database: Opuntia stricta   FAMILY: Cactaceae

 

Habitat: Coastal dunes and coastal scrub, occasionally in water-logged saline soils of mangroves

Rare

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

 


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camera icon Common Name: Coastal Prickly-pear, Shell Midden Prickly-pear, Erect Prickly-pear

Weakley's Flora: (4/24/22) Opuntia stricta var. stricta   FAMILY: Cactaceae

(?) INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS National Database: Opuntia stricta   FAMILY: Cactaceae

 

Habitat: Coastal dunes and coastal scrub, shell middens in salt marshes of the Gulf Coast, occasionally in water-logged saline soils of mangroves

Rare

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

 


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"Between 1992 and 1997, the state lost more than a half million acres, nearly 3 percent of its total land area, to urban development." — John Cely, South Carolina Wildlife