A trio of Opuntias...

Lachy · Post by **Lachy** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:38 am

G'day guys...

Here's three Opuntias for you to ID. Cheers for any help that that you can provide.

Post by **CoronaCactus** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:57 am

1. Looks like Cylindropuntia fulgida var. mammillata or possibly a young C. prolifera.

2. Opuntia monacantha (O. vulgaris)

3. Might be the same as #2, but not sure.

Lachy · Post by **Lachy** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 8:28 am

Cheers for the IDs. After looking at photos of O. monacantha, I'm reasonably convinced that ID is correct for #3. However, I'm really less certain it fits #2. #2 is much more slow growing than #3, despite being an older specimen. It's got a more compact growth habit and is nearly spine- and glochid-free, as opposed to #3 which has a prominent central from each areole. However, I do wonder if #2 is in fact a spineless variety of O. monacantha...

iann · Post by **iann** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:32 am

Opuntia monacantha has varied spines. Sometimes it long vicious spines although only a few, sometimes hardly any spines at all. The key growth feature is the somewhat indeterminate pads rather than pads that strictly reach a certain size and then stop growing. O. monacantha also produces cylindrical "pads" at the base to form a trunk when it reaches tree size, although this may not be visible on plants grown from cuttings.

Post by **CoronaCactus** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 4:12 pm

The rosey pink leaves on the new growth was my clue. Not sure if it's totally unique to this species but it's a good clue towards O. monacantha.