Edit History
OPUNTIA ficus-indica (L.) Mill. [family CACTACEAE]
Date Updated: 19 August 2007
Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 1, (1968) Author: R. Hunt
Names
OPUNTIA ficus-indica (L.) Mill. [family CACTACEAE], Gard. Dict., ed. 8 (1768); Britton & Rose, The Cactaceae 1: 177 (1919). Based on a plant in Leiden Botanic Garden, origin unknown
Cactus ficus-indicus L. [family ], Sp. PL: 468 (1753)
Information
Shrubby or arborescent, up to 4(–5) m. tall, often with a cylindrical trunk. Joints elliptic to narrowly obovate, flattened, often 30–40 cm. long, 15–20 cm. broad, 1–1.5 cm. thick, greyish-green; glochids yellow, deciduous; spines usually none, sometimes 1 or more, up to 1.5 cm. long, bristle-like. Leaves subulate, 3–4 mm. long, early deciduous. Flowers 5–8 cm. in diameter; perianth spreading, yellow or orange, longer than the style and stamens. Ovary cylindrical, 3.5–5 cm. long, with many areoles, the upper bearing bristles up to 1.5 cm. long. Fruit ellipsoidal or obovoid, 5–9 cm. long, 3–6 cm. in diameter, variable in colour, with edible pulp.
Range
DISTR. K3, 6 presumably native to America but not known wild there; widely cultivated and naturalized around the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, in Africa and Australia. Cultivated in Niarobi (Dec. 1948, Bally 6558 in C.M. 13559!) and reported as very common and spreading rapidly around Naivasha (Lucas 278)
Distribution
KENYA Naivasha, 23 Sept. 1962, Lucas 278 !KENYA Masai District Narok, Gwaso Nyiro, 8 Aug. 1961, Glover, Gwynne, Samwell [ Paulo] & Tucker 2375 !
Notes
Several species and cultivars have been distinguished on minor spine and fruit characters.
Date Updated: 19 August 2007
Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 1, (1968) Author: R. Hunt
Names
OPUNTIA ficus-indica (L.) Mill. [family CACTACEAE], Gard. Dict., ed. 8 (1768); Britton & Rose, The Cactaceae 1: 177 (1919). Based on a plant in Leiden Botanic Garden, origin unknown
Cactus ficus-indicus L. [family ], Sp. PL: 468 (1753)
Information
Shrubby or arborescent, up to 4(–5) m. tall, often with a cylindrical trunk. Joints elliptic to narrowly obovate, flattened, often 30–40 cm. long, 15–20 cm. broad, 1–1.5 cm. thick, greyish-green; glochids yellow, deciduous; spines usually none, sometimes 1 or more, up to 1.5 cm. long, bristle-like. Leaves subulate, 3–4 mm. long, early deciduous. Flowers 5–8 cm. in diameter; perianth spreading, yellow or orange, longer than the style and stamens. Ovary cylindrical, 3.5–5 cm. long, with many areoles, the upper bearing bristles up to 1.5 cm. long. Fruit ellipsoidal or obovoid, 5–9 cm. long, 3–6 cm. in diameter, variable in colour, with edible pulp.
Range
DISTR. K3, 6 presumably native to America but not known wild there; widely cultivated and naturalized around the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, in Africa and Australia. Cultivated in Niarobi (Dec. 1948, Bally 6558 in C.M. 13559!) and reported as very common and spreading rapidly around Naivasha (Lucas 278)
Distribution
KENYA Naivasha, 23 Sept. 1962, Lucas 278 !KENYA Masai District Narok, Gwaso Nyiro, 8 Aug. 1961, Glover, Gwynne, Samwell [ Paulo] & Tucker 2375 !
Notes
Several species and cultivars have been distinguished on minor spine and fruit characters.
Date Updated: 19 August 2007
Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 1, (1968) Author: R. Hunt
Names
OPUNTIA ficus-indica (L.) Mill. [family CACTACEAE], Gard. Dict., ed. 8 (1768); Britton & Rose, The Cactaceae 1: 177 (1919). Based on a plant in Leiden Botanic Garden, origin unknown
Cactus ficus-indicus L. [family ], Sp. PL: 468 (1753)
Information
Shrubby or arborescent, up to 4(–5) m. tall, often with a cylindrical trunk. Joints elliptic to narrowly obovate, flattened, often 30–40 cm. long, 15–20 cm. broad, 1–1.5 cm. thick, greyish-green; glochids yellow, deciduous; spines usually none, sometimes 1 or more, up to 1.5 cm. long, bristle-like. Leaves subulate, 3–4 mm. long, early deciduous. Flowers 5–8 cm. in diameter; perianth spreading, yellow or orange, longer than the style and stamens. Ovary cylindrical, 3.5–5 cm. long, with many areoles, the upper bearing bristles up to 1.5 cm. long. Fruit ellipsoidal or obovoid, 5–9 cm. long, 3–6 cm. in diameter, variable in colour, with edible pulp.
Range
DISTR. K3, 6 presumably native to America but not known wild there; widely cultivated and naturalized around the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, in Africa and Australia. Cultivated in Niarobi (Dec. 1948, Bally 6558 in C.M. 13559!) and reported as very common and spreading rapidly around Naivasha (Lucas 278)
Distribution
KENYA Naivasha, 23 Sept. 1962, Lucas 278 !KENYA Masai District Narok, Gwaso Nyiro, 8 Aug. 1961, Glover, Gwynne, Samwell [ Paulo] & Tucker 2375 !
Notes
Several species and cultivars have been distinguished on minor spine and fruit characters.
![OPUNTIA ficus-indica (L.) Mill. [family CACTACEAE]](/fsi/img/misc/plants/static_thumbs/flora_tropEA_icon96.jpg)
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