View source for Nopalea cochenillifera

{{Treatment/ID
|accepted_name=Nopalea cochenillifera
|accepted_authority=(Linnaeus) Salm-Dyck
|publications={{Treatment/Publication
|title=Cact. Hort. Dyck.
|place=1849, 64. 1850
|year=1850
}}
|common_names=Nopal chamacuero;cochineal nopal cactus;tunita
|special_status={{Treatment/ID/Special_status
|code=I
|label=Introduced
}}{{Treatment/ID/Special_status
|code=F
|label=Illustrated
}}
|basionyms={{Treatment/ID/Basionym
|name=Cactus cochenilliferus
|authority=Linnaeus
|rank=species
|publication_title=Sp. Pl.
|publication_place=1: 468. 1753 (as cochenillifer)
}}
|synonyms={{Treatment/ID/Synonym
|name=Opuntia cochenillifera
|authority=(Linnaeus) Miller
|rank=species
}}
|hierarchy=Cactaceae;Cactaceae subfam. Opuntioideae;Nopalea;Nopalea cochenillifera
|hierarchy_nav=<div class="higher-taxa"><div class="higher-taxon"><small>family</small>[[Cactaceae]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>subfamily</small>[[Cactaceae subfam. Opuntioideae]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>genus</small>[[Nopalea]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>species</small>[[Nopalea cochenillifera]]</div></div>
|volume=Volume 4
|mention_page=page 144
|treatment_page=page 149
}}<!--

--><span class="statement" id="st-undefined" data-properties=""><b>Shrubs </b>or trees to 4–5 m; trunks 15–20 cm diam. <b>Stem</b> segments linear to narrowly obovate, sometimes slightly falcate, (10–)15–35(–50) × 5–15 cm; areoles 2–3+ cm apart, 2–5 mm diam.; wool tawny, whitening with age. <b>Spines</b> usually absent or 1(–3), particularly on older pads, straight or curved, brown, aging gray, stout, to 2 cm. <b>Glochids</b> inconspicuous. <b>Flowers</b> 4–7 cm; inner tepals spatulate; crowded pink filaments and white style much longer than tepals, to 15 mm; nectar chamber elliptic to obconic. <b>Fruits</b> ellipsoid, 25–40 × 20–25 mm; areoles well distributed. <b>Seeds</b> tan to gray, 3–5 × 1.5–3 mm, slightly pubescent. <b>2n</b> = 22 (Mexico, Puerto Rico as an escape).</span><!--

-->{{Treatment/Body
|phenology=Flowering winter (Sep–Mar).
|habitat=Hammocks, fields, sandy soils
|elevation=0 m
|distribution=Fla.;Mexico;West Indies (Cuba;Puerto Rico);Central America (Panama).
|introduced=true
|discussion=<p>The stem segments, or pads, of <i>Nopalea cochenillifera</i> are used as food, fodder, and poultices, and for rearing cochineal insects to obtain a red dye (once a major industry). This species may have been selected for spinelessness in Mexico, much like <i>Opuntia ficus-indica</i>, to ease the culturing and collection of cochineal scale insects for red dye.</p>
|tables=
|references=
}}<!--

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-->{{#Taxon:
name=Nopalea cochenillifera
|authority=(Linnaeus) Salm-Dyck
|rank=species
|parent rank=genus
|synonyms=Opuntia cochenillifera
|basionyms=Cactus cochenilliferus
|family=Cactaceae
|phenology=Flowering winter (Sep–Mar).
|habitat=Hammocks, fields, sandy soils
|elevation=0 m
|distribution=Fla.;Mexico;West Indies (Cuba;Puerto Rico);Central America (Panama).
|introduced=true
|reference=None
|publication title=Cact. Hort. Dyck.
|publication year=1850
|special status=Introduced;Illustrated
|source xml=https://bitbucket.org/aafc-mbb/fna-data-curation/src/2e0870ddd59836b60bcf96646a41e87ea5a5943a/coarse_grained_fna_xml/V4/V4_290.xml
|subfamily=Cactaceae subfam. Opuntioideae
|genus=Nopalea
|species=Nopalea cochenillifera
}}<!--

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