Opuntia engelmannii

The status, affinity, scope or nomenclature of this taxon is disputed.

Please see discussion on the talk page.

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Caryophyllales
Classification System: APG IV Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Diaphoretickes Cladus: CAM Cladus: Archaeplastida Regnum: Plantae Cladus: Angiosperms Cladus: Eudicots Cladus: Core eudicots Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Cactaceae
Subfamilia: Opuntioideae
Tribus: Opuntieae
Genus: Opuntia
Series: Opuntia ser. Tunae
Species: Opuntia engelmannii
Varietates: O. e. var. cacanapa – O. e. var. cuija – O. e. var. engelmannii – O. e. var. flavispina – O. e. var. laevis – O. e. var. lindheimeri

Name

Opuntia engelmannii Salm-Dyck ex Engelm., Boston J. Nat. Hist. 6: 207 (1850)
Note: CACO (2025) and POWO (2025) have significantly different varietal circumscriptions and the above follows POWO, as it is the most recently updated.

Hybrids

Opuntia × andersonii H.M.Hern., Gómez-Hin. & Bárcenas, Haseltonia 9: 62 (2002 publ. 2003)

Distribution

Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
- Regional: Southwest USA
  - Arizona, California, Louisiana, Texas
- Regional: Mexico
  - Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest
- Regional: Southern Central USA
  - Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah
- Introduced into:
  - Baleares, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Free State, Italy, South Australia, Spain, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Victoria, Western Australia

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2^nd Edition

References

Primary references

Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck, J. zu, 1850. Boston Journal of Natural History. 6: [1]

Additional references

Hunt, D. 2016. CITES Cactaceae Checklist, ed. 3: 1–174. PDF. Reference page.
Korotkova, N., Aquino, D., Arias, S., Eggli, U., Franck, A. , Gómez-Hinostrosa, C., Guerrero, P.C., Hernández, H.M., Kohlbecker, A., Köhler, M., Luther, K., Majure, L.C., Müller, A., Metzing, D., Nyffeler, R., Sánchez, D., Schlumpberger, B. & Berendsohn, W.G. 2021. Cactaceae at Caryophyllales. org–a dynamic online species-level taxonomic backbone for the family. Willdenowia 51(2): 251–270. DOI: 10.3372/wi.51.51208 Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2025. Opuntia engelmannii in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2025 Jan 05. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2022. Opuntia engelmannii. Published online. Accessed: Jan 05 2022. Reference page.
Korotkova, N. et al. 2025. Opuntia engelmannii in Cactaceae at Caryophyllales.org. A global synthesis of species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales. Published online. Accessed: 2025 Jan 05. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2022. Opuntia engelmannii. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 05 Jan 2022. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Jan 05 in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 2022. Reference page.

Vernacular names

English: Engelmann's Prickly Pear
español: Nopal de Engelmann
magyar: Engelmann-fügekaktusz
Türkçe: Frenk İnciri