Opuntia fragilis

Opuntia fragilis (Nutt.) Haw. ()
🌵 Author(s)
🌵 Published in Suppl. Pl. Succ.: 82 (1819)
🌵 BasionymCactus fragilis ()
🌵 Basionym author(s)
🌵 Basionym published in Gen. N. Amer. Pl. [Nuttall]. 1: 296 (1818)
Etymology

Latin frăgÄ­lis ‘easily broken, brittle, fragile’. For the easily detached stem segments. Nuttall: “[R]emarkable for its brittleness, the articulations though not very tumid coming off and attaching themselves to every thing which they happen to touch, so much so as to lead the hunters to say that it grows without roots.” Compare Opuntia frustulenta.


How to cite

Maarten H.J. van der Meer (2022 Feb 05). Opuntia fragilis. Dictionary of Cactus Names. Retrieved from https://www.cactusnames.org/opuntia-fragilis

Common name
brittle pricklypear

United States Department of Agriculture (2021)

brittle cactus, fragile cactus, jumping cactus

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (2021)