Opuntia monacantha

Haw. Drooping Prickly-pear
Suppl. Pl. Succ.: 81 (1819)
APNI
Taxonomic status Accepted
Occurrence status Present
Establishment means Introduced
Degree of establishment Established

Erect to arborescent shrub to c. 3.5 m high, trunk usually well-developed, to c. 25 cm diam. Terminal cladodes often drooping, compressed, obovate, narrowed toward base, relatively thin, 10–45 cm long, 6–15 cm wide, glabrous, glossy green; margins sinuate; areoles 2–4(–6) cm apart, filled with whitish wool and yellow to reddish-brown glochids; spines mostly 1 or 2 per areole, 25–50 mm long (up to 12 per areole and to 10 cm long on trunk), 0.7–1.5 mm diam. near base, straight, rigid, spreading, white to brown with yellow or red markings, or reddish. Flowers 3–7 cm diam.; sepaloids tinged crimson; petaloids spreading, yellow, the outer ones tinged crimson; staminal filaments pale yellow; style whitish, stigmas pale yellow; hypanthium more or less tuberculate. Fruit obovoid, shallowly depressed at apex, 4–7.5 cm long, 2–4 cm diam., smooth, spineless, reddish-purple, usually greenish toward base, juicy, long-persistent, often proliferating. Flowers late spring–summer.

MuM, Wim, VVP, VRiv, GipP, Gold, CVU, HSF. Also WA, SA, Qld, NSW. Of scattered occurrence from Lake Londsale in the west to near Bairnsdale (e.g. banks of Yarra, Plenty and Werribee Rivers).

Created by: Val Stajsic, 23 May 2017
Updated by: Val Stajsic, 24 May 2017
Opuntia monacantha (hero image) Spinning
Opuntia monacantha (distribution map) Spinning