Opuntia azurea

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Cactaceae
Subfamilia: Opuntioideae
Tribus: Opuntieae
Genus: Opuntia
Species Opuntia azurea
Name

Opuntia azurea Rose
References

Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. Smithsonian Institution 12:291, t. 24. 1909
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Opuntia azurea in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Opuntia azurea, the purple prickly pear or coyotillo, is a long-spined prickly pear that is native to a variety of habitats, including desert, mountain grasslands, and slopes in the Big Bend region of Texas and in the states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango, and Zacatecas in Mexico.[1] It flowers from March to May, with bright yellow flowers with red centres which produce red/purple fruits.[2] Opuntia azurea forms sprawling clusters, two to three feet high.[3]

Its subspecies may include:[4]

O. azurea aureispina
O. azurea discolor
O. azurea azurea
O. azurea diplopurpurea
O. azurea parva.
O. azurea arueispina

However, instead of subspecies, five varieties have been described and ssp. "arueispina" is not recognized.

O. aureispina
O. azurea
O. discolor
O. diplopurpurea, and
O. parva.[5]

References

Rose, Joseph. "Contributions from the United States National Herbarium" (PDF). Opuntia Web. Joseph Shaw. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
A. Michael Powell; James F. Weedin (15 November 2004). Cacti of the Trans-Pecos and Adjacent Areas. Texas Tech University Press. pp. 130–141. ISBN 978-0-89672-531-7. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
The American South West
Texas Cacti: Purple Prickly Pear
Ferguson, David. "Opuntia azurea". Opuntia Web. Joseph Shaw. Retrieved 17 September 2018.