Violet Prickly Pear (Opuntia gosseliniana)

Violet Prickly Pear
Opuntia gosseliniana

Growing happily in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden.

Hi Kell,
Nice photos of this cactus plant. Except these are actually photos of Opuntia gosseliniana instead of Opuntia santa-rita. (This photo http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/179576/ and also this other one http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/179575/ )

I've seen both of these growing in the wild here in Arizona of which they are native to and have learned the differences between the two species. These two species are more often than not mistakenely confused with each other because they have many similarities. Even here at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, they have had an Opuntia gosseliniana mislabeled as an Opuntia santa-rita, and I've notified the caretaker of the garden of it.

The main differences are:
* O. gosseliniana has plain yellow flowers, O. santa-rita has yellow flowers with a bright red throat. see here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/81420/
Here is a photo of an O. santa-rita flower, pads and spines: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/101601/
* O. santa-rita's new pads start out greenish then turn purpleish with age. O. gosseliniana's new pads start out purpleish then turn greenish with age.
* O. gosseliniana gets to about 3.3 feet high, wilst Opuntia santa-rita gets to about 6.6 feet high and has larger pads.
* O. santa rita pads are also thinner than O. gosseliniana.
* O. santa-rita does not have the spines like the ones pictured in your photo.

Many of the images on the internet/google and some of the plants growing at a nearby Botanical Garden have been misidentied because they are difficult to differentiate. O. santa-rita is a more catchy name and therefore gets misapplied all the time.
The photos at fireflyforest.com and desert-tropicals.com are also misidentified.
If your looking for a correctly identified photo of O. santa-rita on the internet, then heres one at this link. Notice the red throat of the flower.
http://gardenbreizh.org/photos/Michel/album-222.html

(Reference: "The Cactus Family" book by Anderson, 2001)

Would you like your photos moved to the correct entry page?
Located here: http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/85320/index.html

Hi Xenomorf
You know yesterday Peggy and I were talking about this and I searched on google for which was which. I personally have no clue. I found most pictures displaying Opuntia santa-rita as all yellow.
example:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Opuntia_santa-rita

I think I only found one picture that had the red. Also all the written info on it from different websites, said it was yellow, none said it was bicolored that I looked at. I was really at a loss.

And then when I searched Opuntia gosseliniana I found very little info, I think I found one all yellow picture and one bicolored. So again, I am really at a loss. May I ask where you found your information?

The only reason I would ever question you is that this was clearly labeled at the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden as Opuntia santa-rita. I have a picture of the sign below.

I personally have no knowledge about it one way or the other. I entered it as monkey see, monkey do. Are you sure you do not have the info reversed?

I also found this info under Opuntia santa-rita entry in the PF "Synonym: Opuntia gosseliniana var. santa-rita" so interesting and even confusing!!! LOL! Sure made me wonder. LOL

It used to be named "Opuntia gosseliniana var. santa-rita" until about 2001 or just previous to 2001 it was made into it's own species (instead of just being a variety) Namely "Opuntia santa-rita"

I found my information in the Reference book that has all the current taxonomy and most of all the recent changes in taxonomy. It is the book published in 2001 called "The Cactus Family" by Anderson.

Here are the quotes from the book on each species:
Page 518...Opuntia santa-rita (photo included)
"...Flowers yellow with bright red bases"

Page 500...Opuntia gosseliniana (photo included)
"...Flowers Yellow to 3 inches in diameter"





This message was edited Jan 21, 2008 4:28 PM

Hi again Xenomorf. I got sidetracked and just was getting ready to go into the rain and thought of you. LOL Why I have no clue.

I was talking to Marilyn on the phone the other night and she looked it up for me in one of her many books. That book said the same. Which is amazing since practically all the internet sources say the reverse.

Anyway, let me not stand in the way of correctness.

I have a few pics of opuntia with no flowers that I have been trying to get IDed. Marilyn said you might be up to the job. Want to try?

Thanks!!

Sure, You might want to post the picts up in the Cacti & Succulents forum, that way, If I don't ID them someone else can have a go at it.

I am off now but when I get home later tonight I sure will look for them. I found 2 HUGE bushes of them in Berkeley a couple of years ago so I must wade thru just a few pics (a lie) to locate them. I had meant to go back when in flower to see them in their glory. What is their prime flowering time?
Thanks

Throughout early Spring, Mid Spring, Late Spring, & early Summer... ... depending on the species and variety.

Kell did you agree you wanted the photos moved? Let me know and I will be glad to move them for you.

I thought Xenomorf was going to do it.

I do not have access to these books myself so I trust that the internet pictures are wrong and NY Botanical Garden is wrong too. LOL!!

Sounds like Xenomorf has really looked into it. We need to sic Xenomorf on them all. LOL