Opuntia tuna (L.) Mill.

Elephantear pricklypear (en), Oponce tuna (fr), Oponce de Tuna (fr), Opuntia de Tuna (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Cactaceae > Opuntia

Characteristics

A cactus. It is spiny and shrubby. It grows about 1 m tall.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 1.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Rocky or sandy waste places, gullies and scrubby thickets at elevations from sea level to 120 metres in Jamaica.
More
A tropical plant. It grows in rocky and sandy places. It grows up to 120 m above sea level.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

The fruit are eaten raw. They are also used for pies and jellies and to flavour other sweets. The half ripe fruit are dried and have the flavour of apples. The tender pads are boiled and used as a vegetable. They are used in soups, stews and omelettes.
Uses animal food eating environmental use food hedge medicinal stabilisation of sandy soils
Edible fruits stems
Therapeutic use Diarrhea (unspecified), Gonorrhea (unspecified), Asthma (unspecified), Poultice (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Opuntia tuna unspecified picture

Identifiers

LSID -
WFO ID wfo-0000386048
COL ID 6SRPR
BDTFX ID 45645
INPN ID 110782
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Opuntia maidenii Opuntia ledienii Opuntia flexibilis Opuntia jamaicensis Opuntia horrida Opuntia polyantha Opuntia coccinea Opuntia tuna Opuntia spinaurea Cactus horridus Cactus humilis Cactus polyanthos Cactus tuna Opuntia megalantha Opuntia humilis Opuntia multiflora Opuntia pseudotuna Cactus tuna var. flava Cactus opuntia var. tuna Opuntia tuna var. cubaguensis Opuntia tuna var. manse