Opuntia monacantha (Willd.) Haw., Cactaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Opuntia aurantiaca: Reject, score: 22 (Go to the risk assessment)

Opuntia robusta: Reject, score: 20 (Go to the risk assessment)

Opuntia monacantha: Reject, score: 20 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: common prickly pear, drooping prickly pear

Samoan: lauaufai va

Habit:  cactus

Description:  "Shrubs or small trees up to 4 m tall, often with a definite trunk; joints glossy green when fresh, narrowly obovate to oblong-lanceolate, the base somewhat cuneate, 10-35 cm long, 7.5-12.5 cm wide, margins undulate toward apex.  Areoles with 1-2 (3) gray or yellowish to reddish brown spines with darker tips, 1-7.5 cm long, trunk areoles sometimes with 10 or more spines.  Flowers 7.5-10 cm long, 5-7.5 cm in diameter; outer perianth parts yellow with a reddish median stripe, 18-25 mm long, 12-15 mm wide, inner perianth parts yellow to orange, rotate, 25-40 mm long, 12-40 mm wide; staminal filaments green to white; style green, 12-20 mm long; stigma lobes 8-10, cream yellow.  Berries reddish purple, fleshy, conical to obovoid, 5-7.5 cm long, 4-5 cm in diameter" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 420).

Habitat/ecology:  Dry sites.  In Fiji, "this species has become a frequent adventive as a perennial shrub 0.5-4 m high, often found in agricultural areas or on waste land near sea level" (Smith, 1981; p. 271).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Southeastern South America.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 193) Opuntia sp.
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Aitutaki Atoll	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 76) Opuntia sp.
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 69) Opuntia sp.
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005) infraspecific: 'ssp. monacantha'
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005) infraspecific: 'ssp. monacantha'
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005) infraspecific: 'var. variegata'
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 193) Opuntia sp.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (p. 271) Opuntia vulgaris
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 193) Opuntia sp.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 420) Voucher cited: Judd s.n. (BISH)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 99) Opuntia sp.
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 110) Opuntia sp.
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 94) Opuntia sp.
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive	Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe (1996) (p. 379) Opuntia sp. Espèces envahissantes (bosquets et fourrés) peu nombreuses mais difficiles à déterminer.
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005) Opuntia vulgaris
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 54) O. compressa? Voucher cited: CHR 169752
Palau Hatohobei Group	Tobi Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 110) Opuntia sp.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Angaur Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 193) Opuntia sp.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Angaur Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 104) Opuntia sp.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 98) Opuntia sp.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Ngerkebesang Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 98) Opuntia sp.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Peleliu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 106) Opuntia sp.
Palau Rock Islands	Ngercheu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 108) (Carp Resort) Opuntia sp.
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. Field notes.) Opuntia sp.
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 54) Opuntia sp.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 453) "Cliffs, sandy beaches".

Comments:  Declared noxious weeds in Fiji and Samoa. O. vulgaris is moderately invasive in these two locations (Meyer, 2000).

Additional information:  Fact sheet from the Department of Natural Resources, Queensland, Australia. (PDF format)
Information from the Purdue University NewCROP web site.

Additional online information about Opuntia monacantha is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Opuntia monacantha may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe. 1996. Conséquences des introductions d'espèces animales et végétales sur la biodiversité en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Rev. Ecol. (Terre Vie) 51:375-401.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2000. Preliminary review of the invasive plants in the Pacific islands (SPREP Member Countries). In: Sherley, G. (tech. ed.). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Samoa. 190 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1981. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 2. 810 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2001. Report to the Kingdom of Tonga on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 78 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of the Cook Islands on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 146 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of Samoa on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 83 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar. 2003. Report to the Republic of Palau on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 174 pp.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U. S. Government. 2006. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. 1999. Botanical survey of the United States of America Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Islands. Prepared for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the U. S. Army Environmental Center. 111 pp.