Santa Fe Botanical Garden
Santa Fe Botanical Garden
Santa Fe Botanical Garden
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Taxon
Opuntia
polyacantha
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Image: Cristina Salvador
Common name:
plains prickly pear, nopal peludito
Family:
Cactaceae (Cactus)
Distribution:
Central and Western United States, Central and Western Canada, Northern Mexico
Habitat:
Grassland, scrublands, sandy areas
Hardiness:
USDA Zone 3 (-40 to -30 °F)
Life form:
Cactus/succulent
Occurrence in New Mexico:
New Mexico native plant
Growing Conditions:
The native range of this
Opuntia
extends through much of western North America, from British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, south through the western United States to California, Arizona, and New Mexico to northern Mexico, and east as far as Missouri, Oklahoma and western Texas. It is found in a variety of habitats, including dry grasslands, badlands and eroded areas. It grows at middle elevations (2,000-8,000 ft) of cold deserts of the Southwest. It typically grows in rocky or clay loam soils, and has a high tolerance for calcareous soils. We have three varieties In New Mexico: var.
arenaria
grows in sandy ground and dunes in the south-central region around El Paso, var.
polyacantha
grows throughout most of the state, and var.
hystricina
is widespread in the western regions.
Links:
Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy)
•
USDA PLANTS Database
•
SEINet
Locations
1:
Arroyo Overlook (Gronquist)
• Accession: 2021-0079 (4) • Provenance: Cultivated of Garden Origin
2:
Piñon-Juniper Woodland
• Accession: 2021-0054/1 • Provenance: Cultivated of Garden Origin
3:
Piñon-Juniper Woodland
• Accession: 2021-0054 (3) • Provenance: Cultivated of Garden Origin
4:
Xeric Garden Hot Box - SE bed
• Accession: 2015-0008/1 • Provenance: Cultivated of Garden Origin
Area
Individual