OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha   FAMILY Cactaceae   Go to FSUS key



INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Opuntia humifusa   FAMILY Cactaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America

Opuntia humifusa var. humifusa

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2010)

Opuntia humifusa

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Opuntia humifusa var. humifusa

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 132-01-001:

Opuntia compressa   FAMILY Cactaceae

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Opuntia pollardii

 

COMMON NAME:
Eastern Prickly-pear


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_ophu_001_lvd

        

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmohumifusavarhumif_pc1

April    Pickens County    SC

Poe Creek State Forest

Stem made up of jointed pads shaped like ping pong paddles, ~ 1/2" thick, per All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999).

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmohumifusavarhumif_pc2

April    Pickens County    SC

Poe Creek State Forest

Fruit a shiny reddish-brown berry, edible after tiny spines are removed, per All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999).

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

Bruce A. Sorrie    bas_o_humifusa_humifusa3

May    Moore County    NC

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

JK Marlow    jkm0405zb_06

May    Greenville County    SC

Chandler Heritage Preserve

The tiny leaves below the clumps of hairlike spines (glochids) fall early, per All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999).

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

JK Marlow    jkm0405zb_22

May    Greenville County    SC

Chandler Heritage Preserve

Spines 2-3" long may or may not be present among the smaller hairy barbs, per All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999).

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

JK Marlow    jkm200516_4851

May    Pickens County    SC

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

Dan Whitten    sdw_053121_pricklypear

May    Greenville County    SC

Chandler Heritage Preserve

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

JK Marlow    jkm060603_052

June    Pickens County    SC

Areoles generally 3(4) per diagonal row at midstem [vs. O. humifusa 4(5)], per Taxonomic revision of the Opuntia humifusa complex (Opuntieae: Cactaceae) of the eastern US (Majure et al., 2017).

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

JK Marlow    jkm060604_043

June    Pickens County    SC

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmohumifusa_lrhabit

June    Pickens County    SC

Table Rock State Park

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmohumifusavarhumif_lr5

June    Pickens County    SC

Table Rock State Park

Tepals entirely yellow or greenish yellow, per Weakley's Flora (2015).

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmohumifusavarhumif_lr6

June    Pickens County    SC

Table Rock State Park

Anthers pale yellow to cream; style and stigma lobes white, per Flora of North America.

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

Tim Spira    tpsohumifusa2

June        

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

JK Marlow    jkm090816_030

August    Pickens County    SC

image of Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha, Eastern Prickly-pear

JK Marlow    jkm221010_0331

October    Pickens County    SC

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha   FAMILY Cactaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Opuntia humifusa   FAMILY Cactaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Opuntia mesacantha ssp. mesacantha

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Opuntia humifusa var. humifusa

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2010)
Opuntia humifusa

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Opuntia humifusa var. humifusa

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 132-01-001:
Opuntia compressa   FAMILY Cactaceae

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Opuntia pollardii

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

988

Shrub
Perennial

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, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

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

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Cladodes armed with glochids (hair-like spines or short prickles) & stout spines

LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellow
Radially symmetrical
Numerous tepals (usually)
Numerous stamens (usually)
Inferior ovary
Bisexual or sometimes functionally staminate

FRUIT:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
Purple/ Reddish-brown
Berry

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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