Plants › cacti
Plains Pricklypear
Opuntia polyacantha
28 photos
Study shows up to four per card, from different observers, so you learn the species rather than one picture. Heart the good ones and swap any you do not like.
Photos you add are credited to you, and you keep the copyright.
Easily confused with
Brittle PricklypearOpuntia fragilis
Hairspine pricklypearOpuntia trichophora
Grassland PricklypearOpuntia cymochila
Brown-spined PricklypearOpuntia phaeacantha
Western PricklypearOpuntia diploursina
prairie pricklypearOpuntia macrorhiza
Twist-spined PricklypearOpuntia tortispina
Golden PricklypearOpuntia aurea
Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.
Where it is recorded
| United States | 25,004 |
|---|---|
| Colorado | 7,788 |
| Canada | 6,178 |
| Alberta | 5,027 |
| California | 4,401 |
| Utah | 3,533 |
| New Mexico | 2,235 |
| Nevada | 2,090 |
| Wyoming | 1,540 |
| Idaho | 1,536 |
Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.
Traits
Group and habits
- Medicinal useListed as having medicinal use by a harvested source. This is not medical advice.Kew World Checklist of Useful Plant Species
- Shrub growth formListed by a harvested source as having a shrub or bush growth form.USDA PLANTS Characteristics
- Perennial plantListed by a harvested source as having a perennial life duration.USDA PLANTS Characteristics
- Cactus growth formDescends from the cactus family.Inferred from its group
Edibility, toxicity and medicinal traits are records from datasets, not advice. Never eat, handle or use a wild species on the strength of an app.
Classification
| Kingdom | Plants · Plantae |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Vascular Plants · Tracheophyta |
| Class | Dicots · Magnoliopsida |
| Order | pinks, cactuses, and allies · Caryophyllales |
| Family | cacti · Cactaceae |
| Genus | Prickly Pears · Opuntia |
Sources
- Names, taxonomy and observation counts: www.inaturalist.org
- Photos and recordings: the creator and source are on each one.
- Traits: Kew World Checklist of Useful Plant Species (CC BY 4.0)
- Traits: USDA PLANTS Characteristics (U.S. Government work / public domain)
- How much to rely on each source
Remember the name next time.
Practise Plains Pricklypear with real photos from different observers. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.