Prickly Pear Cactus

Opuntia maxima

Opuntia maxima is a species belonging to the family Cactaceae.
Opuntia maxima - Prickly Pear Cactus Like in other Opuntia species these buds mature in edible fruits. Geotagged,Opuntia maxima,Prickly Pear Cactus,Spain,Spring

Appearance

It is a shrubby plant of up to 5 m, with fleshy shovels of 30-50 cm, yellow or orange flowers and edible fruits of red, yellow or somewhat purple.
Opuntia maxima - Prickly Pear Cactus Often seen in Lanzarote both in gardens as in wild areas. Geotagged,Opuntia maxima,Prickly Pear Cactus,Spain,Spring

Naming

Opuntia maxima synonym: Opuntia amiclaea.
In Spanish it is known as "tunera común o chumbera".

Distribution

Native to Mexico. Opuntia maxima is a species introduced in the South of Europe and Canary Islands, where it has an invasive character.

Habitat

Drought-tolerant, it thrives in dry sunny environments.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://www.floradecanarias.com/opuntia_maxima.html
https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/69784/
Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderCaryophyllales
FamilyCactaceae
GenusOpuntia
SpeciesOpuntia maxima
Photographed in
Spain