Other conspecific taxa:

• Opuntia stricta (4 accessions)
• Opuntia stricta var. stricta (0 accessions)

Synonyms:

• Basionym: Cactus dillenii Ker Gawl.
• (≡) Opuntia dillenii (Ker Gawl.) Haw.

Common names:

• dildo  (Source: Cact Fam) - English
• Eltham Indian-fig  (Source: Cact Fam) - English
• pipestem prickly-pear  (Source: F SAfr) - English
• spiny pest-pear  (Source: F Aust) - English
• spiny prickly-pear  (Source: Aust Pl Common Names) - English
• sweet prickly-pear  (Source: Cact Fam) - English
• geeldoringturksvy  (Source: F SAfr) - Afrikaans
• pypsteelturksvy  (Source: F SAfr) - Afrikaans
• palma-de-espinho  (Source: Cact EBrazil) - Portuguese
• palmatória  (Source: Cact EBrazil) - Portuguese
• opúntia  (Source: pers. comm.) - Portuguese (Brazil)
• xian ren zhang  (Source: F ChinaEng) - Transcribed Chinese

Economic Importance:

• CITES Appendix II: ()
• Human food: potential as fruit (fide J Prof Ass Cact Dev 10:148-170. 2008)
• Materials: tannin/dyestuff ()
• Medicines: folklore (as O. dillenii)
• Weed: (fide J Prof Ass Cact Dev 10:148-170. 2008)

Distributional Range:

Native

Northern America

• SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida (http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/main.asp?plantID=3595), Georgia, South Carolina]
• SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
• NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas]
• SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz, Yucatan]

Southern America

• CARIBBEAN: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Virgin Islands (British), Virgin Islands (U.S.)
• WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador


Cultivated (also cult.)

Naturalized

Africa

• MACARONESIA: Spain [Canary Islands]
• NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia
• SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa
• WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar

Asia-Temperate

• ARABIAN PENINSULA: Saudi Arabia, Yemen
• CHINA: China

Asia-Tropical

• INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India

Australasia

• AUSTRALIA: Australia

Europe

• SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Portugal, Spain

Southern America

• BRAZIL: Brazil

References:

1. Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581. (F St John)
2. Benson, L. 1982. The cacti of the United States and Canada. 1982 (Cact US Can)
3. Bravo-Hollis, H. & H. Sánchez-Mejorada 1978. Las Cactáceas de México, vol. 1 - 1978, vols. 2,3 - 1991 (Cact Mex) 280.
4. Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll Flora of the Bahama archipelago. (F Bahamas)
5. Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. 1970 (F Tex)
6. FNA Editorial Committee Flora of North America. (F NAmer)
7. George, A. S., ed. Flora of Australia. (F Aust)
8. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards Flora of Ethiopia. 1989- (and Eritrea. 2000) (F Ethiop)
9. Holm, L. et al. A geographical atlas of world weeds. 1979 (Atlas WWeed)
10. Howard, R. Flora of the lesser Antilles. (F LAnt)
11. Matthew, K. M. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic. (F TamilC)
12. Taylor, N. & D. Zappi Cacti of eastern Brazil. 2004 (Cact EBrazil)
13. Weakley, A. S. Flora of the southern and middle Atlantic states. (F S Mid Atl US)

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2018. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy).
National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=310427. Accessed 24 April 2018.