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Opuntia cespitosa Raf.

eastern prickly-pear cactus

Native records: 23 botanical areas

Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, 20 more areas

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Natural distribution

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NativeIntroducedUncertain

Distribution is shown as WGSRPD Level 3 areas. It does not imply the species occurs throughout an entire area.

Last updated:

Distribution last verified:

See sources

Photograph of Opuntia cespitosa

A succulent subshrub of temperate climates. Native to United States, Canada.

This entry carries only the classification and distribution data recorded in WCVP. A written account is not yet available.

Distribution areas

  • Canada

    • OntarioNative

  • China

    • China SoutheastIntroduced

  • Hong Kong

    • China SoutheastIntroduced

  • Macao

    • China SoutheastIntroduced

  • Taiwan, Province of China

    • China SoutheastIntroduced

  • United States of America

    • AlabamaNative
    • ArkansasNative
    • ConnecticutNative
    • GeorgiaNative
    • IllinoisNative
    • IndianaNative
    • IowaNative
    • KentuckyNative
    • MarylandNative
    • MassachusettsNative
    • MichiganNative
    • MinnesotaNative
    • MississippiNative
    • MissouriNative
    • New YorkNative
    • OhioNative
    • PennsylvaniaNative
    • TennesseeNative
    • TexasNative
    • VirginiaNative
    • West VirginiaNative
    • WisconsinNative

Climate of the native range

The Köppen climate classes found in the areas this plant is recorded as native to. It does not mean an entire area has that climate.

  • Cfa Temperate, no dry season, hot summer
  • Dfa Cold, no dry season, hot summer
  • Dfb Cold, no dry season, warm summer
  • Dfc Cold, no dry season, cold summer
  • BSk Arid, steppe, cold
  • BSh Arid, steppe, hot

The same climate occurs in 116 areas worldwide, 92 of which have no record of this plant. See them on the map

A matching climate does not mean the plant can grow there. Range limits are also set by things other than climate — dispersal history, soils, competition. Source: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0 (observed period 1991–2020).

Other names

eastern prickly-pear cactus、eastern prickly-pear

Family
Cactaceae
Genus
Opuntia

Other species in Opuntia

Sources

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Canada · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    China · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Hong Kong · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Macao · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Taiwan, Province of China · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    United States of America · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

Image information

  • Photograph of Opuntia cespitosa

    Mason Brock ( Masebrock ) · Public domain · File page