Opuntia engelmannii var. cuija (tuna)

Opuntia engelmannii Salm-Dyck ex Engelm. var. cuija Griffiths & Hare

Opuntia lindheimeri Engelm. var. cuija (Griffiths & Hare) L.D. Benson

Tuna, cactus apple

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Caryophyllidae	Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts
Order	Caryophyllales	Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants
Family	Cactaceae	Succulent (water-storing) plants, often spiny
Genus	Opuntia	Prickly pears
Species	engelmannii	After Georg(e) Engelmann (1809-1884), a German-born St. Louis physician and botanist, and prolific author on cacti, North American conifers and oaks
var.	cuija

About plant names...

This variety of Engelmann’s prickly pear, sometimes called tuna cactus, is native to North American deserts, at elevations between 1000-4500' (304-1371 m).

Identification: 4-6' (1.2-1.8 m) high, in clumps up to 15' (4.6 m) wide. Thick pads are oval or rounded. Flowers are yellow to red. Fruit is barrel-shaped, with very short spines or no spines. I couldn’t find significant differences between this variety and Engelmann Prickly Pear. See this Opuntia comparison table.

From Britton, Nathaniel Lord, Rose, J. N., The Cactaceae: Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family, Press of Gibson Brothers, 1919, p. Vol I, p 114.

Online References:

Opuntia engelmannii var. cuija on cals.arizona.edu

References:

Britton, Nathaniel Lord, Rose, J. N., The Cactaceae: Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family, Press of Gibson Brothers, 1919, Vol. I, p. 113

Opuntia engelmannii var. cuija description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

5/25/2009 · Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, AZ
≈ 36 × 53" (90 × 135 cm)

Range:

About this map...