NameThatPlant.net: Opuntia stricta var. stricta

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Opuntia stricta var. stricta FAMILY Cactaceae Go to FSUS key

Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.

Read more about Opuntia at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

(?) INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Opuntia stricta FAMILY Cactaceae

COMMON NAME:
Coastal Prickly-pear, Shell Midden Prickly-pear, Erect Prickly-pear

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Opuntia stricta var. stricta FAMILY Cactaceae

(?) INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Opuntia stricta FAMILY Cactaceae

2687

Shrub
Perennial

Habitat: Coastal dunes and coastal scrub, shell middens in salt marshes of the Gulf Coast, occasionally in water-logged saline soils of mangroves, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Rare

CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Cladodes armed with glochids (hair-like spines or short prickles) & spines

LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellow
Radially symmetrical
Numerous tepals (usually)
Numerous stamens (usually)
Inferior ovary
Bisexual or sometimes functionally staminate

FRUIT:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
Dark pinkish-purple
Berry

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!

If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".

Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".