Family: Cactaceae
Group: Dicot
Substrate:
Terrestrial
Habit:
Shrub
Perennation:
Perennial
Native Range: Peninsular Florida, south to the Florida Keys where presumed extirpated.
IRC SOUTH FLORIDA Status:
Secure
Map of select IRC data for peninsular Florida
SOUTH FLORIDA Occurrence:
Present
SOUTH FLORIDA Native Status:
Native
South Florida History and Distribution: Some populations listed here as
O. austrina are
Opuntia mesacantha subsp.
lata. We are currently reviewing and redetermining these specimens.
SOUTH FLORIDA Cultivated Status:
Cultivated
Comments: Visit our
Natives For Your Neighborhood website for more information and images.
FLORIDA KEYS Occurrence:
Presumed Extirpated
FLORIDA KEYS Native Status:
Presumed Extirpated
Map of select IRC data for the Florida Keys
Florida Keys History and Distribution: Not reported for the Florida Keys by John Kunkel Small in 1913, but a specimen collected by Small in 1921 on Long Key (s.n. NY) has been annotated as this (Majure et al. 2017). Reported for Big Pine Key by Dickson et al. (1953, as
Opuntia impedita), but this was considered a misidentification by Austin et al. (1980). Olga Lakela collected a specimen in 1964 on Long Key (
27930 USF) currently determined as
O. stricta, but this needs review. We treat this as presumed extirpated in the Florida Keys. Also reported for Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park (Native Plant Workshop 1981). No verifiable recent records are known.
