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

It was not yet in blossom, and I cannot say whether it is the plant taken, by Nuttall, for Cactus opuntia; probably it is Cactus ferox.

From Travels in the Interior of North America, Part I, (Being Chapters I-XV of the London Edition, 1843) Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, Volume XXII by Maximilian, Alexander Philipp

The first was built in the lobe of a torch-thistle as thick as my leg; the second rested on a stalk of the opuntia, the Indian fig.

From Bramble-Bees and Others by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

When this process is duly effected, the cactus opuntia, or prickly pear, is planted, which hastens the desired event, and has the power to break up the lava, and render it fit for productive purposes.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 20, No. 568, September 29, 1832 by Various

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.