Opuntia compressa
J.F.Macbr. (1922)
Etymology
| 🌵 Author(s) | James Francis Macbride | 🌵 Published in | Contr. Gray Herb. 65: 41 (1922) |
Latin compressus ‘compressed’. Not explained, presumably for the flattened stems. Intended by Macbride as a replacement name for the invalid tautonym Opuntia opuntia (L.) H.Karst., based on Cactus compressus Salisb. (in Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton 348. 1796). The epithet was presumably taken from the pre-Linnaean name Cactus compressus articulatus ramosus, articulis ovato-oblongis, spinis subulatis hort.Cliff.
This name was often used for Opuntia humifusa but is now considered a synonym of Opuntia ficus-indica (see Leuenberger in Taxon 42(2): 419-429. 1993).
Maarten H.J. van der Meer (2023 Dec 06). Opuntia compressa. Dictionary of Cactus Names. Retrieved from https://www.cactusnames.org/opuntia-compressa