Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw., Cactaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score:20 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: erect prickly-pear, southern spineless cactus

Habit:  cactus

Description:  "Spreading to erect shrub to 2 m. Basal stem-segments sometimes thickened, trunk-forming; upper segments elliptic to obovate, 10-35 cm long, 7-20 cm wide, glabrous, dull green to grey-green. Leaves conical, 4.5-6 mm long. Spines up to 11 per areole, 1-6 cm long, yellow to brown; glochids yellow. Flowers 5-6.5 cm diameter; petaloid lobes spreading, yellow. Fruit obovoid with depressed apex, 4-6 cm long, 2.5-4 cm diameter, purple. Seeds 4-5 mm long, pale brown" (George, 1984; p. 71).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Tropical and subtropical coast of eastern North America, Bermuda, West Indies and adjacent South America" (George, 1984; p. 71).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 25) Vouchers cited: Guillaumin 8548, MacKee 24784, MacKee 34624 Spontané
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 94)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Cronk, Q. C. B./Fuller, J. L. (2001) (p. 176)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Control: 

Biological: "The biological control of prickly pear, largely by the introduction of the Phycitid moth Cactoblastis cactorum Berg. from Argentina, is one of the most spectacular successes of economic entomology" (George, 1984; p. 71).

Opuntia stricta is also controlled by a cochineal insect, Dactylopius opuntiae.

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

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

References:

Cronk, Q. C. B./Fuller, J. L. 2001. Plant invaders. Earthscan Publications, Ltd., London. 241 pp.

George, A. S., ed. 1984. Flora of Australia. Vol. 4, Phytolaccaceae to Chenopodiaceae. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

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

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

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

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.