Home/Species/ Purple Prickly-pear

Opuntia macrocentra

Engelm.

Purple Prickly-pear

G3Vulnerable (G3G4) Found in 9 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G3VulnerableGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.137095

Element CodePDCAC0D2D0

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

IUCNLeast concern

CITESAppendix II

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderCaryophyllales

FamilyCactaceae

GenusOpuntia

Other Common Names

purple pricklypear (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Conservation Status

Review Date1994-01-07

Change Date1994-01-07

Edition Date1994-01-07

Edition AuthorsAnnable, C.

Rank Reasons

Grows on plains, hills, and washes in southern Arizona, southern and central New Mexico, west Texas, and Chihuahua, Mexico.

Range Extent Comments

It occurs in Arizona (Greenlee County to Gila, Cochise and Pima Counties), New Mexico (10 counties), western Texas (west of the Pecos River); adjacent Mexico (Chihuahua).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Foothill slopes and along arroyos, 600-1500 m. Plains, hills and washes, 1050-1650 m in New Mexico.

Reproduction

Opuntias produce sexual and asexual seeds, exchanging genetic material occasionally while continuing to disperse asexually; these adaptations allow the plants to adapt to stressful environments. All Opuntias produce fleshy fruits that are dispersed by animals and many Opuntias are known to be self-dispersed, in addition (Valiente-Banuet and Godinez-Alvarez 2002).

Other Nations (1)

United StatesNNR

Province	Rank	Native
New Mexico	SNR	Yes
Texas	SNR	Yes
Arizona	S3	Yes
Colorado	S1	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)Yes

Roadless Areas (9)

Arizona (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Happy Valley	Coronado National Forest	7,972
Middle Dragoon Roadless	Coronado National Forest	10,543
Pinaleno	Coronado National Forest	130,920
Whetstone	Coronado National Forest	20,728
Winchester	Coronado National Forest	13,459

New Mexico (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Little Dog And Pup Canyons	Lincoln National Forest	25,412
Ortega Peak	Lincoln National Forest	11,545
West Face Sacramento Mountains	Lincoln National Forest	41,176

Utah (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Cottonwood	Dixie National Forest	6,754

References (9)

Anderson, E. F. 2001. The Cactus Family. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 760 pp.
Correll, D.S., and M.C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. Texas Research Foundation, Renner. 1881 pp.
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2003b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 4, Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 1. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 559 pp.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Kearney, T.H., R.H. Peebles, and collaborators. 1951. Arizona flora. 2nd edition with Supplement (1960) by J.T. Howell, E. McClintock, and collaborators. Univ. California Press, Berkeley. 1085 pp.
Martin, W.C., and C.R. Hutchins. 1980-1981. A flora of New Mexico. 1980, Vol. 1; 1981, Vol. 2. J. Cramer, in der A.R. Gantner Verlag, K.G., Vaduz, Liechtenstein. 2591 pp.
Shreve, F., and I.L. Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and flora of the Sonoran Desert. 2 volumes. Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford. 1740 pp.
USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, PLANTS Database [USDA PLANTS]. http://plants.usda.gov/. Accessed 2015.
Valiente-Banuet, A., and H. Godinez-Alvarez. 2002. Population and Community Ecology. Pages 91-108. in: P. Nobel, editor. Cacti: Biology and Uses. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.