Drooping tree pear

Opuntia monacantha syn. O. vulgaris

family

Cactaceae

origin

Exotic

declaration

Category 3 Restricted Matter (Biosecurity Act 2014)

Category 3 Restricted Matter (Biosecurity Act 2014)

Must not be distributed or disposed. This means it must not be released into the environment unless the distribution or disposal is authorised in a regulation or under a permit.

Common names

Drooping prickly pear, Barbary fig, Cochineal prickly pear, Common prickly pear, Drooping pear, Smooth tree pear, Spiny prickly pear, Spreading prickly pear.

Drooping tree pear is a succulent shrub or tree growing to 5m in height often having a definite trunk that is much branched at the top and has drooping upper branches (cladodes). Branches are narrowly obovate (egg-shaped in outline but with the narrower end at the base) to oblong-lanceolate; base somewhat tapered (cuneate), 10-35 cm long, 7.5-12.5 cm wide. Succulent branches bear areoles with 1-3 grey or yellowish to reddish brown spines with darker tips, while the trunk areoles have 10 or more spines.

Leaf arrangement:Needle-reduced
Leaf form:Alternate
Yellow
Green

Impact

Impact

Drooping tree pear (Opuntia monacantha) is regarded as an environmental weed in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.

Location

Location

Characteristics

Characteristics

Similar Species

Similar Species

Control Methods