opuntia

British  

/ ɒˈpʌnʃɪə /

noun

1. any cactus of the genus Opuntia, esp prickly pear, having fleshy branched stems and green, red, or yellow flowers

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Etymology

Origin of opuntia

C17: New Latin, from Latin Opuntia ( herba ) the Opuntian (plant), from Opus, ancient town of Locris, Greece

Example Sentences

The event will include displays of many rare and unusual succulents, including aloe, echeveria, euphorbia, agave, opuntia, pachypodium and ferocactus.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2023

The hill of calcareous breccias, which we have just mentioned as having once been an island in the ancient gulf, is covered with a thick forest of cylindric cactus and opuntia.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Ross, Thomasina

The cochineal is imported from Spain, although the opuntia, or the tree that nourishes the cochineal-fly, abounds in many of the provinces of West Barbary, particularly in the province of Suse.

From An Account of Timbuctoo and Housa Territories in the Interior of Africa by Jackson, James Grey

The center of the State is occupied by intergrades between A. b. bilineata, opuntia, and grisea.

From Birds from Coahuila, Mexico by Urban, Emil K.

The groups of columnar cactus and opuntia produce the same effect in the arid lands of equinoctial America as the junceae and the hydrocharides in the marshes of our northern climes.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Ross, Thomasina