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Taxon:  Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.



Summary
Genus:
Opuntia
Family:
Cactaceae
Subfamily:
Opuntioideae
Tribe:
Opuntieae
Nomen number:
25840
Place of publication:
Gard. dict. ed. 8: Opuntia no. 2. 1768
Comment:
an implicit reference to a Linnaean basionym may be assumed fide Melbourne ICN Art 41, Ex. 5
Verified:
08/28/2002 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
0 (0  active, 0  available) in National Plant Germplasm System. 
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Basionym
Cactus ficus-indica L.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
No images
Reference(s)
  1. Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98. 2012
  2. Aldén, B., S. Ryman & M. Hjertson. Våra kulturväxters namn - ursprung och användning. Formas, Stockholm (Handbook on Swedish cultivated and utility plants, their names and origin). 2009 Note:
    • based on Alden, B. & S. Ryman. 2005-: SKUD (Swedish Utility and Cultivated Plants Database)
    • http://www.skud.info
  3. Anderson, E. F. The cactus family. 2001 499.
  4. Angely, J. A. Flora analítica e fitográfica do Estado de São Paulo. 1970-
  5. Benson, L. 1982. The cacti of the United States and Canada. 1982 932.
  6. Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45. 1993
  7. Bravo-Hollis, H. & H. Sánchez-Mejorada. 1978. Las Cactáceas de México, vol. 1 - 1978, vols. 2,3 - 1991 320.
  8. Brutsch, M. O. & H. G. Zimmermann. 1993. The prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica [Cactaceae]) in South Africa: Utilization of the naturalized weed, and of the cultivated plants. Econ. Bot. 47:154-162. http://link.springer.com/journal/volumesAndIssues/12231
  9. CITES. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices I, II and III (on-line resource). http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml
  10. Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. 1970
  11. Cufodontis, G. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta. 1953-1972
  12. Davis, P. H., ed. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. 1965-1988
  13. Duke, J. A. et al. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. 2002
  14. Erhardt, W. et al. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen. 2008
  15. Felker, P. et al. 2002. A comparison of the fruit parameters of 12 Opuntia clones grown in Argentina and the United States. J. Arid Environm. 52:361-370.
  16. Felker, P. et al. 2005. Comparison of Opuntia ficus indica varieties of Mexican and Argentine origin for fruit yield and quality in Argentina. J. Arid Environm. 60:405-422.
  17. Figueiredo, E. & G. F. Smith. Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. 2008
  18. FNA Editorial Committee. Flora of North America. 1993- http://floranorthamerica.org/
  19. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource). Note: http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/cropListDetails?code=&relation=beginsWith&name=Opuntia+ficus-indica&quantity=1
  20. Forzza, R. C. et al., coord. Lista de espécies da flora do Brasil (on-line resource). http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/2010/
  21. George, A. S., ed. Flora of Australia. 1980-
  22. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14. 2003
  23. Greuter, W. et al., eds. International code of botanical nomenclature (Saint Louis Code). 2000 Art. 32.4, Ex. 7. http://www.bgbm.org/iapt/nomenclature/code/SaintLouis/0000St.Luistitle.htm
  24. Griffith, M. P. 2004. The origins of an important cactus crop, Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae): new molecular evidence. Amer. J. Bot. 91:1915-1921. http://www.amjbot.org
  25. Hackett, C. & J. Carolane. Edible Horticultural Crops. 1982 Note: Academic Press
  26. Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17. 1993
  27. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. Flora of Ethiopia. 1989- (and Eritrea. 2000)
  28. Henderson, L. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12. 2001
  29. Henderson, M. et al. Declared weeds and alien invader plants in South Africa. Botanical Research Institute, bulletin 413. 1987
  30. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource). http://www.hear.org/pier/index.html
  31. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. 2008 http://www2.darwin.edu.ar/Proyectos/FloraArgentina/FA.asp
  32. IPGRI. New World Fruits Database (on-line resource). http://www.bioversityinternational.org/databases/new_world_fruits_database/search.html
  33. Irish, M. 2001. The ornamental prickly pear industry in the southwestern United States. Florida Entomol. 84:484.
  34. Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75. 1999
  35. Kiesling, R. 1999. Origen, domesticación y distribución de Opuntia ficus-indica. J. Profess. Assoc. Cactus Developm. 3:50-59. http://www.jpacd.org/journals.htm
  36. Kunkel, G. Plants for human consumption. 1984
  37. Labra, M. et al. 2003. Genetic relationships in Opuntia Mill. genus (Cactaceae) detected by molecular marker. Pl. Sci. (Elsevier) 165:1129-1136.
  38. Le Floc'h, E. & L. Boulos. Flore de Tunisie: catalogue synonymique commenté. 2008
  39. León, B. 1995. pers. comm. Note: re. Spanish common names
  40. Leuenberger, B. E. 1993. Interpretation and typification of Cactus opuntia L., Opuntia vulgaris Mill., and O. humifusa (Rafin.) Rafin. (Cactaceae). Taxon 42:426. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iapt/tax
  41. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. Hortus third. 1976
  42. Magness, J. R. et al. Food and feed crops of the United States. IR Bull. 1. 1971
  43. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2. 1998
  44. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000 Note: American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, MD
  45. Meikle, R. D. Flora of Cyprus. 1977-1985
  46. Miller, A. G. & T. A. Cope. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra. 1996-
  47. Mouterde, P. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie. 1966-
  48. Munz, P. A. & D. D. Keck. A California flora. 1959
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  51. Reyes-Agüero, J. A. et al. 2005. Systematic notes and a detailed description of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (Cactaceae). Agrociencia (Montecillo) 39:395-408.
  52. Shreve, F. & I. L. Wiggins. Vegetation and flora of the Sonoran desert. 1964
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  58. Taylor, N. P. et al. 2002. Realignment and revision of the Opuntioideae of Eastern Brazil. Succ. Pl. Res. 6:130.
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Common names
English
Barbary-fig –
Indian-fig –
Indian-fig prickly-pear –
mission cactus –
mission prickly-pear –
prickly-pear –
smooth mountain prickly-pear –
smooth prickly-pear –
spineless cactus –
sweet prickly-pear –
tuberous prickly-pear –
tuna cactus –
Afrikaans
boereturksvy –
grootdoringturksvy –
French
figuier de Barbarie –
figuier d'Inde –
German
Feigenkaktus –
Portuguese
figo-da-Índia –
figo-da-Espanha –
figueira-da-Barbária –
jamaracá –
jurumbeba –
orelha-de-onça –
palma-de-gado –
palma-gigante –
Spanish
chumba –
chumbera –
higuera –
nopal de Castilla –
nopal pelón –
tuna –
tuna de Castilla –
tuna mansa –
Swedish
fikonkaktus –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
2Cultivated    widely cult.
4NaturalizedAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya  
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaCabo Verde  
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaPortugalMadeira Islands 
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaSpainCanary Islands 
4NaturalizedAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEritrea  
4NaturalizedAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEthiopia  
4NaturalizedAfricaNorthern AfricaLibya  
4NaturalizedAfricaNorthern AfricaMorocco  
4NaturalizedAfricaNorthern AfricaTunisia  
4NaturalizedAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaAngola  
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth Africa  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaSaudi Arabia  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaYemen  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChina s.
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaCyprus  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaLebanon  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaSyria  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaTurkey  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeGreece  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeItaly  
4NaturalizedEuropeSouthwestern EuropeFrance incl. Corsica
4NaturalizedEuropeSouthwestern EuropeSpain incl. Baleares
4NaturalizedNorthern America Mexico  
4NaturalizedNorthern AmericaSouthwestern U.S.A.United StatesArizona 
4NaturalizedNorthern AmericaSouthwestern U.S.A.United StatesCalifornia 
4NaturalizedPacificNorth-Central PacificUnited StatesHawaii 
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaBrazilBrazil  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaCaribbeanCuba  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaCaribbeanGuadeloupe  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaCaribbeanHispaniola  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaCaribbeanNetherlands Antilles  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaCaribbeanPuerto Rico  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaCaribbeanTrinidad and TobagoTrinidad 
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaMesoamericaNicaragua  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaArgentina  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaParaguay  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaBolivia  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaEcuador  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaPeru  
6Other    probable origin Mexico
Cultivated (widely cult.)
Naturalized
Africa
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya
  • MACARONESIA: Cabo Verde, Spain [Canary Islands], Portugal [Madeira Islands]
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Eritrea, Ethiopia
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa
Asia-Temperate
  • ARABIAN PENINSULA: Saudi Arabia, Yemen
  • CHINA: China (s.)
  • WESTERN ASIA: Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
Europe
  • SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Greece, Italy
  • SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica)
Northern America
  • REGION: Mexico
  • SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arizona, California]
Pacific
  • NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
Southern America
  • BRAZIL: Brazil
  • CARIBBEAN: Hispaniola, Netherlands Antilles, Cuba, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago [Trinidad]
  • MESOAMERICA: Nicaragua
  • SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Paraguay
  • WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru
Other (probable origin Mexico)
Economic Uses
Animal food
CITES Appendix II
–
Environmental
ornamental (fide Fla Entomol 84:484. 2001; Cact Fam; Invasive Pl Spec) –
Fuels
fuelwood (fide F NAmer) –
Human food
beverage base (fide Cact Fam) –
Invertebrate food
dye-containing insects (cochineals used as a source of carmine dye fide Econ Bot 47:157. 1993; Cact Fam) –
Medicines
folklore (fide CRC MedHerbs ed2; Herbs Commerce ed2; Cact Fam) –
Weed
(fide Econ Bot 47:155; Cactus USCan; Cact Fam; Invasive Pl Spec; Weeds SAfr 2001) –


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Plant germplasm is distributed to scientists, educators, producers and other bona fide research and education entities from National genebank of Tunisia active collection sites. The NGBT Curator and/or Research Leader will, in accordance with current NPGS policies and procedures, determine the legitimacy of a request when necessary.

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Distribution of germplasm from NPGS collections to fulfill requests from individuals seeking free germplasm strictly for home use is generally considered an inappropriate use of limited resources and conflicts with U.S. Government policy of not competing with commercial enterprises. Requestors can be asked, in an appropriate manner, to justify the use of specific NPGS germplasm instead of suitable commercially available germplasm.

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