Opuntia nicholii (syn. O. polyacantha var. nicholii, and others). This is a severely misunderstood species which is not treated as occurring at this location by others, yet it is in certain habitats the dominant pricklypear of the region.O. nicholii, historically called "Navajo Bridge" pricklypear (which especially at this point is a confusing common name, and we can add new common names to species if we want to, unlike with their scientific names; a more apt name would be "Canyonlands pricklypear") is not the restricted endemic as it was originally thought. In all it is currently in known to occur in nine counties in Utah, not just one or two. And in the northern part of its range where it is less influenced by other Opuntias, it is not uncommon for it to have yellow (as well as pink) flowers. It is a hexaploid (a stable allohexaploid) and stands alone as a species; its treatment as merely a variety, based primarily on the work of Opuntia specialist A. Dean Stock, is not supported by its characteristics and genetics in relationship to to other pricklypears. While O. erinacea (which does not occur anywhere in southeastern Utah) may have been ancestrally one of its several parent plants based on speculation, it is not an "erinacea" and that name should not be used to describe any plants in Utah other than those that occur in the extreme southwestern portion of the state (which regrettably is completely contrary and inapposite to the outdated and unsupportable taxonomic Opuntia treatments by Dr. Stanley Welsh).Scanned from a slide. I apologize for not weeding out the cheatgrass before taking this shot. The 30-year old slide is still in excellent shape but still with many small specks of dust that accumulate that become burdensome to deal with, since despeckling (which would have saved a lot of time) leads to significant loss of image quality and clarity.May 21, 1984, Grand County, Arches National Park, Utah.Somehow we were still able to take pictures in the pre-digital world, as well as breath and walk and even occasionally think!
Opuntia erinacea (syn. O. polyacantha var. erinacea).Referred to also as Grizzly bear pricklypear.Should not be confused with O. erinacea as treated historically by Benson (and Welsh who basically still follows Benson with respect to Opuntia). Should be treated at the species level rather than as a variety.In Utah, it only occurs in the southwestern corner of the state (and its Utah distribution as indicated in Intermountain Flora Vol 2A is not accurate, which is also true for some other Opuntia species as well); also occurs in Arizona, Nevada and California.May 4, 1985, Snow Canyon, Washington Canyon, Utah.Scanned from a slide.
Opuntia polyacantha Haw. var. erinacea (Engelm. & Bigelow) Parfitt. (synonyms include O. erinacea var. ursina). Another common name is Mojave prickly pearBarely enters Utah in extreme southwestern Utah and is also found in Arizona, Nevada (as here) and California. In Utah (and probably also in adjoining Clark County) the flowers are always pink.April 25, 1986, Virgin River Recreation Area, Mohave County, Arizona
Summary[edit] Description: Opuntia polyacantha, Dugout Ranch, northeast of Canyonlands National Park near the junction of UT Hwy. 211 and Beef Basin Rd., 38.083 -109.569, San Juan County, Utah, 18 May 2016. Date: 18 May 2016, 13:36. Source: Opuntia polyacantha. Author: Patrick Alexander from Las Cruces, NM. Camera location38° 04′ 58.8″ N, 109° 34′ 08.4″ WView all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 38.083000; -109.569000.
Description: Opuntia polyacantha is very common in the sagebush steppe in this area and research suggests its abundance is not necessarily correlated (positively) with disturbance. Date: 31 May 2006, 11:35. Source: Opuntia polyacantha Uploaded by Jacopo Werther. Author: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA. Camera location47° 43′ 39.58″ N, 107° 40′ 49.57″ WView all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 47.727661; -107.680437.
Description: Opuntia polyacantha var. polyacantha in Idaho. The relative abundance of this cactus may have no relationship to the amount of disturbance due to overstocking and such. Date: 29 June 2009, 14:56. Source: Opuntia polyacantha Uploaded by uleli. Author: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA. Camera location43° 50′ 32.71″ N, 112° 37′ 59.01″ WView all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 43.842419; -112.633059.
Summary[edit] Description: Opuntia polyacantha at the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Red RIver, north-northwest of Taos, 36.653 -105.691, Taos County, New Mexico, 21 May 2008. Date: 21 May 2008, 12:48. Source: Opuntia polyacantha. Author: Patrick Alexander from Las Cruces, NM. Camera location36° 39′ 10.8″ N, 105° 41′ 27.6″ WView all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 36.653000; -105.691000.
Description: Opuntia polyacantha is often present even if sporadic in high native cover sagebrush steppe. This suggests its occurrence in highly disturbed (and former sagebrush steppe) is residual rather than adventive. Date: 3 June 2012, 15:51. Source: Opuntia polyacantha Uploaded by Tim1357. Author: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA. Camera location44° 57′ 52.67″ N, 108° 15′ 02.19″ WView all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 44.964630; -108.250609.
Description: Artemisia pedatifida, the small matted dark clumps, on clayey soils near highway 310 south of Bridger, Montana. Wyoming big sagebrush sits in the background, along with greasewood, the lichen Xanthoparmelia, and bluebunch & thickspike wheatgrass. Date: 30 September 2010, 10:57. Source: Artemisia pedatifida Uploaded by Tim1357. Author: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA. Camera location45° 13′ 22.62″ N, 108° 52′ 59.33″ WView all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 45.222950; -108.883148.
Description: The cacti are blooming in May in Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument. Date: 13 May 2012, 11:33. Source: Springtime in the Desert. Author: John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA.
Description: Although not surviving well from the July 2010 fire, rare individuals of Opuntia polyacantha were seen resprouting from surviving underground rootstock. The associated grass is the native rhizomatous Agropyron dasystachyum (thickspike wheatgrass). Date: 4 June 2011, 13:43. Source: Opuntial polyacantha postfire Uploaded by Tim1357. Author: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA. Camera location43° 33′ 05.75″ N, 112° 50′ 43.38″ WView all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 43.551597; -112.845384.
Summary[edit] Description: Opuntia arenaria near Black Mountain, south of Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, New Mexico, 7 Dec 2014. Date: 7 December 2014, 19:32. Source: Opuntia arenaria. Author: Patrick Alexander from Las Cruces, NM.
Summary[edit] Description: Opuntia arenaria, near Black Mountain, south of Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, New Mexico, 7 Dec 2014. Date: 7 December 2014, 18:44. Source: Opuntia arenaria. Author: Patrick Alexander from Las Cruces, NM.
Description: Opuntia polyacantha is very common in the sagebush steppe in this area and research suggests its abundance is not necessarily correlated (positively) with disturbance. Date: 31 May 2006, 11:35. Source: Opuntia polyacantha Uploaded by Jacopo Werther. Author: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA. Camera location47° 43′ 39.58″ N, 107° 40′ 49.57″ WView all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 47.727661; -107.680437.
Summary[edit] Description: Plains pricklypear (Opuntia polyacantha), Cactus family (Cactaceae). Along the trail to the upper view of the Delicate Arch, Arches Natl. Park, Utah. Date: 8 May 2015, 17:35. Source: 2015.05.08_17.35.55_IMG_2049. Author: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA.
Summary[edit] Description: Opuntia polyacantha, southeastern Grants Malpais, 34.737 -107.983, Cibola County, New Mexico, 27 May 2005. Date: 27 May 2005, 19:16. Source: Opuntia polyacantha. Author: Patrick Alexander from Las Cruces, NM.
