Cactaceae
Opuntia

Opuntia microdasys (Lehm.) Pfeiff.

First published in Enum. Diagn. Cact.: 154 (1837)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Mexico. It is a succulent subshrub or shrub and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome. It is used as a poison and has environmental uses.

Distribution

Native to:

Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest

Introduced into:

Algeria, Arizona, Baleares, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, France, Free State, Greece, India, Italy, KwaZulu-Natal, New South Wales, North Caucasus, Northern Provinces, Portugal, Queensland, South Australia, Spain, Tunisia, Victoria, Western Australia

Synonyms

Homotypic Synonyms

Heterotypic Synonyms

Classification

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Publications

POWO follows these authorities in accepting this name:

  • Aymerich, P. (2023). Notes sobre flora aŀlòctona a Catalunya. IV. Butlletí de la Institució Catalana d'Història Natural 87: 225-238.
  • Dobignard, A. & Chatelain, C. (2013). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 5: 1-451. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
  • Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003). Flora of North America North of Mexico 4: 1-559. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
  • George, A.S. & Menadue, M. (eds.) (1984). Flora of Australia 4: 1-354. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
  • Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14: 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Mao, A.A. & Dash, S.S. (2020). Flowering Plants of India an Annotated Checklist (Dicotyledons) 1: 1-970. Botanical Survey of India.
  • Serapio, J. & al. (2023). Contribution to the alien flora of the Balearic Islands. Butlletí de la Institució Catalana d’Història Natural. Secció de botanica 87: 11-28.
  • Takhtajan, A.L. (ed.) in Takhtajan, A.L. (ed.) (2012). Konspekt Flora Kavkaza 3(2): 1-623. Editio Universitatis Petropolitanae.
  • Verloove, F. & al. (2017). New records of naturalised and invasive cacti (Cactaceae) from Gran Canaria and Tenerife, Canary islands, Spain. Bradleya. Yearbook of the British Cactus and Succulent Society 35: 58-79.
  • Villaseñor, J.L. (2016). Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87: 559-902.
  • Vázquez Pardo, F.M. & García Alonso, D. (2017). Aproximación al conocimiento del grupo Opuntia Mill. (s.l.) (Cactaceae) en Extremadura (España). Folia Botanica Extremadurensis 11: 51-75.
  • Véliz, M. (2008). Las Cactáceas de Guatemala: 1-129. Unidad de Investigación Herbario BIGU, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.
  • von Raab-Staube, E. & Raus, T. (eds.) (2019). Euro+Med-Checklist Notulae, 11. Willdenowia 49: 421-445.

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (2014-continuously updated). Atlas of Living Australia http://www.ala.org.au/.
  • Dobignard, A. & Chatelain, C. (2013). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 5: 1-451. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
  • Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003). Flora of North America North of Mexico 4: 1-559. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
  • Mao, A.A. & Dash, S.S. (2020). Flowering Plants of India an Annotated Checklist (Dicotyledons) 1: 1-970. Botanical Survey of India.
  • Serapio, J. & al. (2023). Contribution to the alien flora of the Balearic Islands. Butlletí de la Institució Catalana d’Història Natural. Secció de botanica 87: 11-28.
  • Takhtajan, A.L. (ed.) in Takhtajan, A.L. (ed.) (2012). Konspekt Flora Kavkaza 3(2): 1-623. Editio Universitatis Petropolitanae.
  • Verloove, F. & al. (2017). New records of naturalised and invasive cacti (Cactaceae) from Gran Canaria and Tenerife, Canary islands, Spain. Bradleya. Yearbook of the British Cactus and Succulent Society 35: 58-79.
  • Villaseñor, J.L. (2016). Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87: 559-902.
  • von Raab-Staube, E. & Raus, T. (eds.) (2019). Euro+Med-Checklist Notulae, 11. Willdenowia 49: 421-445.

Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

  • Diazgranados et al. (2021). Catalogue of plants of Colombia. Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia project. In prep.
  • Diazgranados, M., Allkin, B., Black N., Cámara-Leret, R., Canteiro C., Carretero J., Eastwood R., Hargreaves S., Hudson A., Milliken W., Nesbitt, M., Ondo, I., Patmore, K., Pironon, S., Turner, R., Ulian, T. (2020). World Checklist of Useful Plant Species. Produced by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity.
  • GRIN (2021). Germplasm Resources Information Network from the United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.ars-grin.gov/
  • IUCN (2021). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2. https://www.iucnredlist.org.

Other Data

Other Kew resources that provide information on this taxon:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
K000372580 No
[0] K000101006 No

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0