Opuntia stricta (Haworth) Haworth var. dillenii (Ker Gawler) L.D. Benson. Coastal Prickly Pear, Shell Midden Prickly-pear, Yaaxpakan. Phen: Apr-Jun; Aug-Dec (-Feb). Hab: Coastal dunes and coastal scrub, occasionally in water-logged saline soils of mangroves. Dist: Var. dillenii is most common in the Caribbean region but makes its way into the se. US along both the Atlantic (north to e. SC) and Gulf coasts (of the FL peninsula and panhandle and coastal AL).

ID notes:O. stricta var. dillenii is typically a larger, more robust plant than O. stricta var. stricta.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: A hexaploid taxon (2n=66). AL, FL, GA, SC. 2n=66.

Synonymy: = Bah, K1, K4, SFla, Tx, Benson (1982), Doyle (1990), Ward (2009e); = n/a – RAB; = Opuntia dillenii (Ker Gawl.) Haw. – S13; < Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw. – Fl5, FNA4, K2, S, WH3

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: UPL (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Great Plains: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)

Heliophily: 9