Opuntia Miller (1754: 974)

Oliveira, Anabela Silveira De, Pontes, Rodrigo Corrêa, Robaina, Luis Eduardo De Souza & Trentin, Romário, 2022, The Cactaceae family in the Santa Maria river basin (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), Phytotaxa 542 (2), pp. 153-166 : 161

6. Opuntia Miller (1754: 974)

Type (indicated by Linnaeus 1753: 468):— Cactus opuntia L .

Species richness:— Opuntia is a genus with wide geographic distribution and comprises approximately 200 species. In Brazil, there are 5 species of which ocurr in Rio Grande do Sul ( Carneiro et al. 2016).

General distribution:— The genus occurs from southern Canada to Uruguay, with the largest number of species in Mexico ( Kiesling 2005).

Distribution in Santa Maria river basin:— In SMRB only Opuntia megapotamica Arechavaletae (1905: 42) occurs ( Fig. 3A ) and it has a wide distribution in fields, rocky outcrops and woods.

Morphologic notes:— The species is characterized by its shrub or arboreal size, with articulated branches, acicular thorns and usually diurnal orange or yellow flowers with fleshy fruits. It blooms from October to March, bearing fruit shortly after flowering.

Figures

FIGURE 3. A) Opuntia megapotamica (orange flowers). B) Parodia arnostiana (yellow flowers). C) P. herteri (pink flowers). D) P. linkii (yellow flower). E) P. mammulosa (yellow flower). F) P. nothorauschii. G) P. ottonis(flores yellow flower). H) P. ritteriana(yellow flower). I) P. tenuycilindrica. J) Wigginsiasellowii (yellow flower). K) W. langsdorffii (pale-yellow flower). L) W. turbinata (yellow flower). Pictures by A. S. Oliveira.