Copy permalink to share

Opuntia macrorhiza Engelmann. Common name: Tuberous-rooted Prickly-pear, Plains Prickly-pear. Phenology: May-Jun; Aug-Dec (-Feb). Habitat: Sandy or silty prairies, glades, limestone rock outcrops. Distribution: Mostly of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, w. LA, AR, MO into the Midwestern states.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: What is currently recognized as Opuntia macrorhiza s.l. is a group of closely related taxa (species complex), that is currently under revision (Majure, unpubl. data). Material that occurs in w. MS is of the O. grandiflora form (see Britton & Rose 1920), which is mostly spineless or may have 1-3 spines per areole. Those plants form large colonies and grow slightly ascending, produce inner tepals that are yellow with red bases adaxially and elongated fruit maturing dark purple to red (see Majure and Ervin 2008; treated as O. aff. allairei). This species often has tuberous roots. A species complex with diploid and tetraploid components (2n=22, 44).

Synonymy ⓘ: = C, FNA4, Il, K4, Mex, NcTx; = Opuntia macrorhiza Engelm. var. macrorhiza — GrPl, Tx; = Opuntia tortispina Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow — F, misapplied; ? Opuntia allairei Griffiths; > Opuntia compressa (Salisb.) J.F.Macbr. var. macrorhiza (Engelm.) L.D.Benson — Weniger (1984); > Opuntia grandiflora Engelm. — S13; > Opuntia leptocarpa MacKenson — S13, Weniger (1984); > Opuntia macrorhiza Engelm. — F, S13; > Opuntia roseana Mackensen — S13; > Opuntia sphaerocarpa Engelm. — Weniger (1984); > Opuntia tortispina Engelm. & J.M.Bigelow — S13. Basionym: Opuntia macrorhiza Engelm. 1850

Links to other floras: = Opuntia macrorhiza - FNA4

Show in key(s)

Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)

Heliophily ⓘ: 9

Your browser does not support SVGs

Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.

image of plant© Erik Danielson source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source
image of plant© Aidan Campos source

Feedback

See something wrong or missing on about Opuntia macrorhiza? Let us know here: (Please include your name and email if at all complicated so we can clarify if needed.) We greatly appreciate feedback, and will include updates from you in our next webapp update, which can take a few months. If a species is not keyed, that's because keying is ongoing. Please don't send us feedback about unkeyed species.


Horticultural Information

NCBG trait

Intro:

Stems:

Leaves:

Inforescence:

Flowers:

Fruits:

Comments:

Height:

plant sale text:

bloom table text:

description:

stems:

leaves:

inflorescence:

flowers:

fruits:

comments:

cultural notes:

germination code:

native range:



0 unsaved edits on this page.