Opuntia

Morphological Summary

Genus of cacti in subfamily Opuntioideae, commonly known as prickly pears, nopal or paddle cacti. With over 200 accepted species it is one of the largest genera in Cactaceae. Their flattened stem segments (cladodes) are covered in glochids — microscopic barbed spines that detach on contact. Distributed primarily in the Americas, they have been widely naturalised in Mediterranean regions, Africa, Australia and Asia. Several species have great economic importance as producers of prickly pear fruit, edible pads (nopalitos) and as host plants for Dactylopius coccus, from which cochineal dye is extracted.