Opuntia triacanthos (Willd.) Sweet is a plant in the Cactaceae family, order Caryophyllales, kingdom Plantae. Not known to be toxic.

Photo of Opuntia triacanthos (Willd.) Sweet (Opuntia triacanthos (Willd.) Sweet)
🌿 Plantae

Opuntia triacanthos (Willd.) Sweet

Opuntia triacanthos (Willd.) Sweet

Opuntia triacanthos is a Caribbean cactus that grows on exposed reefs, produces yellow flowers and fleshy red fruit.

Family
Genus
Opuntia
Order
Caryophyllales
Class
Magnoliopsida

About Opuntia triacanthos (Willd.) Sweet

Opuntia triacanthos (Willd.) Sweet is a species of cactus that can grow either prostrate or upright, reaching a maximum length of 60 centimeters. Its flattened stem segments are oval-shaped, growing up to 18 centimeters long and 7 centimeters wide. The spines of this cactus have black tips and can grow up to 4 centimeters long. It produces yellow flowers throughout the year. Its fleshy red fruit measures up to 3 centimeters long and 2 centimeters wide. This plant is native to the Caribbean, ranging from Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico, to the Lesser Antilles. It grows in sandy limestone habitats on exposed reefs.

Photo: (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA) · cc-by-nc-sa

Taxonomy

Plantae Tracheophyta Magnoliopsida Caryophyllales Cactaceae Opuntia

More from Cactaceae

Sources: GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia, NCBI Taxonomy · Disclaimer

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