Lovers of these wonderful prickly beauties are many.
Unusual plants attract more people with their uniqueness and extraordinary.
Some are engaged in professional breeding of cacti, someone just keeps them in order to get joy, contemplating though rare, but such charming blooms.
Views and their photos
Everyone who breeds these thorny plants has a queen of all cacti — charming opuntia. Can elegant flat shapemaybe unusual surface structure - something extraordinary attracts people in it.
Each species is beautiful in its own way, it has its own characteristics and whims. What kind? With this, we will now deal together. There will also be given the species and their nakhvaniya prickly pear cactus with photos.
Indian
This prickly pear is originally from Mexico.
Also called figs Opuntia, as it grows fruits like figs.
These fruits are edible, in some countries they make jams and sauces for different dishes.
Indian prickly pear has flat stems of a round shape, not very densely covered with spines.
The stalks of the plant branch out and due to this the bush can grow up to 3-4 m. It blooms with small yellow flowers, on the place of which the very fruits are later formed.
White hair
White hair can grow up to 2 m tall, so if you want to have a cactus similar to what grows in the desert, feel free to choose this one! It has long and flexible spines of white color, the length of which can be up to 8. It blooms with large yellow flowers 6-8 cm in diameter.
Berger
One of the most common types of opuntia. Opuntia Berger attracts the attention of red flowers with many petals and thick stamens. The plant itself is very large, tapering to the bottom, in the same way as its prickly branches, reaching 25 in length. The spines are hard, they can grow up to 4 cm in length.
Small hair
The height of such a cactus can reach 50 cm. It has flat stems, spines of fine-grained opuntia are almost not felt to the touch. Requires maximum lighting and heat, but it also withstands low temperatures. In winter, the temperature regime for this cactus should be no more than 8-12 degrees.
Ordinary
Common in appearance like a tree. It has a solid large stem with almost symmetrical processes. Height can reach 6 mtherefore, it is clearly not suitable for growing at home.
Has areoles with slight pubescence, spines on some of the areoles. Opuntia ordinary blooms from April to September bright yellow large flowers.
Cylindrical
Opuntia Cylindrical has stems of a cylindrical shape of a rich green color. Bush height no more than 1.6-1.8 m. It fascinates many with its pink bloom.
Subulata
This plant is impressive in its growth rate. In just a couple of years it grows to 2 m. It has large needle-like spines, which are formed on the barely noticeable tubercles, which cover the processes of the sublate. Its cylindrical leaves grow to 10 cm.
This cactus blooms with red flowers with a pinkish tint.
Squat
In a squat creeping stem, on which segments of light green color are located. This type of cactus looks like a bush. It has quite a few spines, also rarely located areoles.
Flowering squat prickly pear drops in June. The flowers are yellow, later they turn into rounded fruits.
Squat powerful
This species is not much different from the previous one. The main difference is that the powerful squat is very densely covered with needle-like spines.
Breaking
Unbreakable is often grown at home. It is a rather undersized plant with bluish-green segments, growing up to 4-5 cm in length. The segments are rather large and voluminous, densely covered with spines. It blooms with large yellow flowers, which diameter is 6 cm.
Brazilian
It has a flat stem and the same, but smaller segments. These processes are rather thin, leaf-shaped, therefore, under unfavorable conditions and inadequate care, they hang and fall quickly.
Brazilian blooms in yellow flowers elongated in length. It is desirable to grow it in a shaded, but warm place.
Felt
Felt is like a shrub, it comes from all the same Mexico. The height of this felt opuntia - up to 6 m. In appearance, this plant is not very similar to a cactus, since its spines are quite flexible, white, make the surface of the plant velvety like.
Dark bur
It has a large root system, due to which it grows in whole groups. Its segments are light green with blue, have a rounded shape, their length can reach 40 cm. The plant is abundantly covered with long solid dark spines, in length - up to 8.
Kamany
This cactus is a shrub, is able to form these thickets. Can grow up to 90 cm tall. It has green-bluish processes and needle-like spines of red-brown color.
Spiked head
Bush height can be up to 2 m. It has relatively small segments approximately 8 cm long. On one segment can be placed an unlimited number of glochidia, each with from 6 to 22 spikes of white.
Unbending
Relentless hard and long spines. At first, the spines are pink in color, darkening with time. The plant forms sods up to 2 m wide. In summer, flowers appear, they are yellow, in diameter reach 5 cm. It is possible to propagate the uncompromising as cuttings, and seeds.
Lyndheimer
This cactus may look like a bush or even a small tree. It blooms in late May, flowers have a yellow or red color. Then there are fruits, they are quite large - up to 3 cm in diameter.
Indicates their maturation dark purple color. Lyndheimer tolerates frost down to -12 degrees.
Brownish
Brownish can grow up to 1 m in height. Segments of this plant are shiny, green, oval, in length can be up to 25-30 cm. The length of the thorns is up to 4.5-5 cm, they are hard and dark. Blooms in large yellow flowers.
Thin stem
Both the stem and the thin stem segments are elongated and long, while being quite thin. Thin stalk Opuntia pleases with unusual round-shaped red flowers. The spines of the plant are rare, covered with white bloom.
Basal
This plant is branched, has a blue-green flat stalks. The basal is special because it has no thorns.
There are only areola yellow-white. Basal is incredibly beautiful blooms of red-purple flowers of large size. It also produces egg-shaped fruits.
Powerful
Powerful reaches 5 m in height. It has dense large oval segments, the diameter of which can be up to 25 cm. Also, powerful prickly pears have needle-like spines up to 5 long, they are white in color. Blooms yellow flowers of large size.
Potts
Potts is able to win the heart of any woman. Its beautiful purple flowers with a diameter of up to 10 cm look impressive. Has a stalk up to 70, flat segments, spines can reach 4-5 in length.
Hairy
Hairy looks extraordinary. The stem and segments of the plant are covered with areolae, each of which has many small flexible needles of white color. Along the edges of the segments are tightly placed flowers, in place of which later grow round fruits.
Rose flower
It is easy to guess that such a name of the plant appeared due to the flowering of a rich pink color. Rose flowers bloom very copiously, flowers are large and bulky, their diameter can reach 4-5 cm.
The stem of the pink-flowered flat, its height is often 55-60 cm, the segments are also flat.
Blushing
Reddening is a tree-like plant that can grow up to 6 m. Thorny ones are usually reddening, sometimes they are absent, sometimes they are completely absent. Flowering can be yellow, red or orange color, length of one flower - 6, diameter - 2 cm.
Redhead
The height of the redhead is up to 1.5 m. The plant has a light green color, the segments that have a round shape, their diameter can reach 20 and the thickness 1.5 cm. This opuntia has reddish glochidia and large yellow flowers. The spines are absent.
Santa Rita
The height of Santa Rita is up to 2 m. The segments are green with a red tinge, they are rounded and covered with prickles. The flowers have a bright yellow color, their diameter can exceed 7 cm.
Sheera
This bush plant grows in groups. In height - up to 1 m. Sherae many segments of 30 cm in diameter. It has brownish areoles and lighter glochidia.
From each areola there are up to 12 thin spines. Sheera has very large yellow flowers, diameter - up to 10 cm.
Schott
Opuntia Shotta forms a large shrub, consisting of many stems. The height of such stems can be more than 3 m, each of them is up to 10 cm in diameter. The stems of the shotta are ribbed and hard. Prickles a little, their length is no more than 3. It blooms in pink-white color.
Twisted bur
It is a tree prickly pear, its height can be up to 4 m. The trunk of such a tree can have a diameter of up to 40 cm. The segments are flat, oval, rich green, up to 35 in length.
From one glochidia can grow up to 9 spines, they are small, white. Blooms with orange flowers up to 9 cm in diameter.
Compressed
This is a plant whose height is not more than 1.5 m. Segments begin to grow almost from the root. The lower the segment is compressed, the darker its color. The length of the segments is 25-30 cm. Compressed has small yellow-white spikes. Once a year, blooms yellow flowers with a diameter of 6.
Tehuakana
This is a small indoor cactus, the height of which does not exceed 50 cm. It has a stem length of 10-15 and many flat segments. Plastic needles, long and thin. Tehuakana has a light green color.
Figous
Gray-green prickly pear with areoles, on which there are almost no thorns. Fig flowers are large, red. The segments are fleshy and large. The height of the fig-shaped is no more than 15 cm.
Vershaffelt
A small plant, great for home cultivation. Height - no more than 10 cm. It has a purple color, fleshy stems. Flowers lemon-yellow with a reddish middle.
Engelmann
This cactus looks like a shrub, can grow tall up to 4 m. And its segments are 20-30 cm long. The surface is densely covered with glochidia and small spines. Engelmann Opuntia has red flowers with a yellow center.
Silvery
This is truly a giant cactus. Its height can reach 20 m! From the silver shoots formed branches, that is, segments, as well as a large cylindrical trunk. The length of one segment can be up to 15 m. But the silver flowers are not so big, 6 cm in diameter, have a yellow color.
Parry
Parry grows a bush, the length of the plant can reach 2.5 m. The segments are saturated green with red shimmer, ribbed. The surface is densely covered with white spines, their length is up to 3 cm. Parry flowers are relatively small in size - up to 3 in diameter, yellow.
Bigelow
Plant can reach 2 m in height. Opuntia Bigelow looks like a shrub, vaguely reminiscent of a small tree. It has a lot of white thin spines 2 cm long. Flowers can be red or green, their diameter is 4.
Salma
The stem of this plant is represented by cylindrical segments. Opuntia of this species has quite a few spines, they are very hard. Salma flowers have a calm orange color.
Prickly
Prickle height can reach 4 m. The longest segments of the same plants have a length of 50 cm. Flowers have a yellow color. Thorny buds used in medicine. In some countries, these same buds are eaten.
Prickly Colorado
Prickly Colorado has a pale green color. The segments are cylindrical, up to 30 cm long. The spines are white, they densely cover the surface of the plant. Flowers prickly Colorado may be yellow, orange, light green.
Atsiculata
This type of prickly pear grows shrubs. In aliculata dark red glochidia, from each grows 1-3 spines. The length of the spines is up to 5 cm. The flowers have a yellow color, their width can be up to 10.
Conclusion
This list contains not only domesticated prickly pear species, but also those that grow exclusively in native land in Mexico. If you like prickly pears, then here you will certainly find a plant that you want to quickly put on the windowsill to admire the unusual thorny handsome man.
