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Scientific Name
Synonyms
Family
Common Names
Origin
Naturalised Distribution
Habitat
Habit
Distinguishing Features
Stems and Leaves
Flowers and Fruit
Reproduction and Dispersal
Environmental Impact
Legislation
Management
Similar Species
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infestation (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

habit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

habit of same plant following attack by biocontrol agents (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

stem segments (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

close-up of stem segment (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

young stem segment with tiny leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

flower and flower buds (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

close-up of flower (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

mature fruit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

seedlings (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

stem segment damaged by biocontrol agents (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

Opuntia stricta

Scientific Name

Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw.

Synonyms

Opuntia bentonii Griffiths
Cactus opuntia var. inermis DC.
Cactus strictus Haw.
Opuntia inermis (DC.) DC.
Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw. var. stricta
Opuntia vulgaris
Mill. (misapplied)

Family

Cactaceae

Common Names

Australian pest pear, coastal prickly pear, common pest pear, common prickly pear, erect prickly pear, pest prickly pear, prickly pear, sour prickly pear, southern spineless cactus

Origin

Native to southern USA (i.e. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Virginia and Texas), Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and tropical South America (i.e. Venezuela and Ecuador).

Naturalised Distribution

This species is widely distributed and common throughout the eastern parts of Australia and is also scattered throughout many other parts of the country. It is most abundant in central and southern Queensland and in northern New South Wales. Also present in some parts of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, and in other parts of New South Wales and Queensland.

Habitat

A common weed of semi-arid, sub-tropical, tropical and warmer temperate regions. It inhabits open woodlands, rangelands, grasslands, pastures, waterways, roadsides, railways lines, coastal environs, gardens, disturbed sites and waste areas.

Habit

An upright (i.e. erect) or spreading fleshy (i.e. succulent) shrub usually growing 50-100 cm tall, but occasionally reaching up to 2 m in height.

Distinguishing Features

Stems and Leaves

The stems are much-branched and consist of a series of flattened, fleshy (i.e. succulent), segments. These segments (10-35 cm long, 7-20 cm wide, and 10-20 mm thick) are green or bluish-green in colour and longer than they are broad (i.e. obovate in shape). They are hairless (i.e. glabrous) and covered in small raised structures (i.e. areoles) which bear tiny spiny bristles (i.e. glochids). These structures (i.e. areoles) either do not have any spines or may have one or two long sharp spines (2-4 cm long).

The leaves are reduced to tiny cylindrical (i.e. terete) or cone-shaped (i.e. conical) structures (4.5-6 mm long) and are quickly shed from the developing stem segments (i.e. they are caducous).

Flowers and Fruit

The flowers (up to 7 cm long and 6-8 cm across) are bright yellow, but often have pinkish or reddish coloured markings on the outer 'petals'. They are borne singly on fleshy bases along the margins of the stem segments. Each flower has large numbers of 'petals' (most of these are actually petal-like structures known as petaloids) and numerous stamens. Flowering occurs mostly during spring and summer.

The immature fruit are green in colour, but they turn reddish-purple as they mature. These berries (4-8 cm long and 2.5-4 cm wide) are fleshy (i.e. succulent), egg-shaped (i.e. obovoid), and usually have slightly depressed tips. Each fruit has several tufts of small barbed bristles (i.e. glochids) on its surface. The reddish or purplish coloured pulp in the centre of the fruit contains large numbers of seeds. These seeds (4-5 mm long and 4-4.5 mm wide) are generally yellow or pale brown in colour and somewhat rounded (i.e. sub-globular) in shape.

Reproduction and Dispersal

This plant reproduces by seed and also vegetatively via its fleshy (i.e. succulent) stem fragments (i.e. the stem segments may become dislodged and produce roots).

Stem fragments are spread by becoming attached to animals, footwear and vehicles. They may also be dispersed by floodwaters and in dumped garden waste. The fruit are eaten by various animals (e.g. birds and foxes) and the seeds then spread in their droppings.

Environmental Impact

Common prickly pear (Opuntia stricta) is regarded as an environmental weed in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. This species was recently listed as a priority environmental weed in two Natural Resource Management regions. It is also listed in the Global Invasive Species Database, and regarded to be in the top 100 of the world’s worst invasive alien species.

Legislation

This species is declared under legislation in the following states and territories:

Management

For information on the management of this species see the following resources:

Similar Species

Common prickly pear (Opuntia stricta) is very similar to spiny pest pear (Opuntia dillenii) and intermediates between the two species are sometimes seen in Australia. It is also similar to Indian fig (Opuntia ficus-indica), white-spined prickly pear (Opuntia streptacantha), drooping tree pear (Opuntia monacantha) and velvety tree pear (Opuntia tomentosa). These species can be distinguished by the following differences: