Canary flora > Cacti
Opuntia dillenii
Opuntia dillenii (Ker Gawl.)
Mexican prickly pear
A species native to Central America: Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
It grows as a low cushion or as large as a highly branched shrub, reaching a height of 2 to 3 metres.
Fleshy, blue-green or sometimes grey-green leaves, measuring 7–40 cm in length and 6–9 cm in thickness.
They have 1 to 5 spines up to 5 centimetres long. Spines may also be absent, as they are highly variable.
They are generally erect, somewhat flattened and sloping, and
sometimes speckled with yellow or brown bands.
The flowers vary in appearance; they are 7 to 8 cm long and range in colour from lemon yellow to orange-yellow to orange, and are sometimes reddish.
The stamen filaments are greenish-white at the base. The style is white and the stigma is cream-coloured.
