Opuntia quitensis

Opuntia quitensis
Date: 1997 August 17

An Opuntia which flowers while still small. The pads are up to 10cm long, and each will carry one of these 1.5cm orange flowers - even the very first pad on a cutting. The flowers are embedded in the tip of the pad, and leave a recess after they drop off.

Although I obtained the plant as O. stenopetala, there is little doubt that this is a different plant. The general consensus seems to be that it is O. quitensis, and at times has also been described as O. macbridei and O. johnsonii.