Complete name: Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.
Taxonomy: Magnoliophyta » Magnoliophyta » Rosopsida » Caryophyllales » Cactaceae » Opuntia ficus-indica
Authors: Montserrat Vilà
Last updated: October 4th, 2006

Prickly-pear cacti, cactus pear, Indian-fig prickly-pear.

Opuntia ficus-barbarica A. Berger
Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.

This cactus can reach up to 2 m height. Succulent stems are flat, oval and segmented. Flowers 5-6 cm in diameter are orange. Fruits have the size and shape of a fig and are purple. It has a CAM physiology with very high water-use efficiency.

• Dispersal Mechanisms
  • Seeds are dispersed by vertebrates such as birds, feral pigs and lizards that feed upon fruits. Many seedlings are found beneath trees used as perching for birds.
• Reproduction
  • Flowers are pollinated by insects. Seeds from intact fruits and scats germinate after long rainy periods and warm temperatures (21º approximately). Vegetative reproduction from cladodes (flattered succulent segments stems) falling close to parental plants is also important for increasing local abundance.
• Known Predators/Herbivores
  • Rodents are efficient seed predators. Livestock feed upon non-spiny varieties.
• Resistant Stages (seeds, spores etc.)
  • Seeds in the soil can remain viable for several years. Plants are resistant to high summer temperatures and strong coastal winds.

• Native (EUNIS Code)
  • Semi-arid habitats
• Habitat Occupied in Invaded Range (EUNIS Code)
  • B1: Coastal dune and sand habitats, B3:Rock cliffs, ledges and shores, including the supralittoral, F7: Spiny Mediterranean heaths (phrygana, hedgehog-heaths and related coastal cliff vegetation) , F8: Thermo-Atlantic xerophytic habitats, G3: Coniferous woodland, J6: Waste deposits.
• Habitat Requirements
  • Planted as a garden plant, it usually occurs close to buildings. It is mostly found in sunny, rocky and well-drained slopes. Rocks decrease diurnal variation in soil water availability and increase root growth and branching. Sensitive to freezing temperatures below -6ºC and tolerant to high temperatures up to 65ºC. Soil fertilization with N, P, Ca and K increases fruit production. Tolerant to moderate soil salinity.

It was introduced by the Spanish conquerors between 1548 and 1570 for mass-rearing of the cochineal insect Dactylopius coccus (Homoptera: Dactylophdae) for the commercial production of a red dye. It is a long-domesticated cactus crop for fodder, stem (i.e. “nopal”) and fruit consumption. In Italy and Israel it is planted for fruit consumption. It is also used as an ornamental, planted as wind protection fencing, land reclamation and rehabilitation, and erosion control.

• Native Range
  • Tropical America from Mexico to Colombia
• Known Introduced Range
  • Mediterranean Basin, especially in islands, Macaronesia Islands, Australia, Tropical and Southern Africa, Western USA, Caribbean, temperate Asia, Seychelles and Hawaii.
• Trend
  • There is increasing invasion in abandoned Mediterranean agricultural fields. Climatic models predict increasing productivity with climate warming and rising atmospheric CO2.

known distribution area (in CGRS grid squares; in countries; along coast)

	eradicated
	extinct
	not present; eradicated
	native distribution range in CGRS grid squares
	native range
	assumed native range
	infrequent distribution
	key distribution area
	not established

• Ecosystem Impact
  • Its spatial occupation competes with native species recruitment.
• Health and Social Impact
  • Famous for the injury the spines can cause to animals and humans. Invaded woodlands are misperceived as typical Mediterranean landscapes.
• Economic Impact
  • Invaded old-fields with spiny varieties interfere with sheep and cattle grazing. Organic acids accumulated during night on young stems might cause diarrhoea to livestock.

• Prevention
  • Avoiding planting as an ornamental and dumping of plant debris in the wild.
• Mechanical
  • Plants sprout vigorously after aerial biomass removal (i.e. fire, grazing, clipping). Successful regrowth can occur from any plant fragment.
• Chemical
  • Summer glyphosate injection into cladodes or areas where it has been cut has proved to be effective.
• Biological
  • In Hawaii, Australia and South Africa there has been successful biological control by the Hemyptera Dactylopius opuntiae and to a lesser extend by the Lepidoptera Cactoblastis cactorum.

The following contributors have provided records in the DAISIE database for this species.

The following experts registered themselves as having knowledge about this species or its family.

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DeFelice MS (2004) Prickly pear cactus, Opuntia spp. - A spine-tingling tale. Weed Tech. 18:869-877

Gimeno I, Vilà M (2002) Recruitment of two Opuntia species invading abandoned olives groves. Acta Oecologica 24:239-246

Vilà M, Burriel JA, Pino J et al (2003) Association between Opuntia spp. invasion and changes in land-cover in the Mediterranean region. Global Change Biol 9:1234-1239

Anneke DP, Moran VC (1978) Critical review of biological pest control in South Africa. 2. The prickly pear Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Miller. J Entom Soc South Africa 41:161-188

Barbera G, Carimi F, Inglese P (1992) Past and present role of the indian-fig prickly-pear Opuntia ficus-indica (L. Miller Cactaceae) in the agriculture of Sicily. Econ Bot 46:10-20

Benson L, Walkington DL (1965) The southern Californian prickly pears. Invasion adulteration and trial by fire. Ann Miss Bot Gard 52:262-273

Brutsch I, Zimmermann H (1993) The prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae) in South-Africa; utilization of the naturalized weed and the cultivated plants. Econ Bot 47:154-162

Cuti M, Nobel PS (1994) Gas exchange and growth responses to elevated CO2 and light levels in the CAM species Opuntia ficus-indica. Plant Cell Environ 17:935-944

Dean WRJ, Milton SJ (2000) Directed dispersal of Opuntia species in the Karoo South Africa: are crows the responsible agents? J Arid Environ 45:305-314

Drennan PM, Nobel PS (1998) Root growth dependence on soil temperature for Opuntia ficus-indica: influences of air temperature and a doubled CO2 concentration Func Ecol 12:959-964

García de Cortázar V, Nobel PS (1990) Worldwide environmental productivity indices and yield predictors for a CAM plant Opuntia ficus-indica including effects of doubled CO2 levels. Agric Forest Met 49:261-279

Gersani M, Graham E, Nobel PS (1993) Growth responses of individual roots of Opuntia ficus-indica to salinity. Plant Cell Environ 16:827-834

Galizzi FA, Felker P, González C, Gardier D (2004) Correlations between soil and cladode nutrient concentrations and fruit yield and quality in cactus pears Opuntia ficus-indica in a traditional farm setting in Argentina. J Arid Environ 59:115-132

Griffith MP (2004) The origins of an important cactus crop Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae): New molecular evidence. Amer J Bot 91:1915-1921

Inglese P, Barbera G, La Mantia L (1995) Research strategies for the improvement of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit quality and production. J Arid Environ 29:455-468

Le Houérou HN (1996) The role of cacti (Opuntia spp.) in erosion control land reclamation rehabilitation and agricultural development in the Mediterranean Basin. J Arid Environ 33:135-159

Nobel PS (1988) Environmental biology of agaves and cacti. Cambridge University Press. London

Nobel P, Hartsock T (1984) Physiological responses of Opuntia ficus-indica to growth temperature. Physiol Plant 60:98-105

Nobel PS, Miller PM, Gram EA (1992) Influence of rocks on soil-temperature soil-water potential and rooting patterns for desert succulents. Oecologia 92:90-96

Nobel PS, De la Barrera E 2003) Tolerances and acclimation to low and high temperatures for cladodes fruits and roots of a widely cultivated cactus Opuntia ficus-indica. New Phytol 157:271-279

Nogales M, Hernández EC, Valdés F (1999) Seed dispersal by common ravens Corvus corax among island habitats (Canarian Archipelago). Ecoscience 6:56-61

Monteiro A, Cheia VM, Vasconcelos T, Moreira I (2005) Management of the invasive species Opuntia stricta in a Botanical Reserve in Portugal. Weed Res 45:193-201

Reyes-Agüero JA, Aguirre JR, Valiente-Banuet A (2006) Reproductive biology of Opuntia: A review. J. Arid Environ 64:549-585

Samish YB, Ellern SJ (1975) Titratable acids in Opuntia ficus-indica L. J. Range Man 28:365-369

Vilà M, Gimeno I (2003) Seed predation of two alien Opuntia species in Mediterranean communities. Plant Ecol 167:1-8

Zimmermann HG, Moran VC (1991) Biological control of prickly pear Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae) in South Africa. Agric Ecos Environ 37:29-35