Species Information

Kingdom: Plantae
  Phylum: Anthophyta
    Class: Dicotyledoneae
      Order: Caryophyllales
        Family: Cactaceae
          Genus: Opuntia
            Species: arenaria

Sand Prickly-Pear - Opuntia arenaria

Sand Prickly-Pear

Image courtesy of New Mexico Rare Plants

400776

Species Extent (New Mexico)

General Description

Stem consisting of loosely attached flattened joints up to 8 cm in length by 2-3 cm in width, the joints highly varied in size and shape, bearing areoles with dense clumps of yellowish glochids; rhizomes and often larger roots also often bearing glochids; spines in areoles on stems slender and barbed, up to about 1.5 or exceptionally 2.5 cm long, about 3-10 per areole; spines on ovary and fruit smaller; flowers about 3-6 cm across, yellow, sometimes fading to orange; stigmas green; fruit drying to tan, rigid-walled, brittle; seeds deep brown to nearly black, invested in a hard bony off-white aril, irregular in shape, discoid with a prominent rim, roughly 5-7 mm in diameter. Flowers in May to June.

Status

Global Rank: G2

State Rank: S2

State Status: E

Federal Status:

USFS Status:

BLM Status: BLM SENSITIVE

SWAP Status:

NMRP Strategy Status: Strategy Species

Observations in Natural Heritage New Mexico Database

Number of Subpopulations: 24

Number of Mapped Locations: 1191

Number of Observations: 1168

Observation date range: 11-28-1954 to 08-07-2023

External Links

View More Information about this species at:
  NatureServe Explorer
  New Mexico Rare Plants Website
  Environmental Conservation Online System (ECOS)

Species Related Publications

Show