Cactaceae

Golden pricklypear

Opuntia aurea E.M.Baxter

Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Opuntia

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Golden pricklypear (Opuntia aurea) — FlowerPhoto: Robbie Hannawacker, CC0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (4)

Arabic: صبير ذهبي
arz: صبير ذهبى
Chinese: 海狸尾仙人掌
English: Golden pricklypear, Golden prickly-pear

Synonyms

Opuntia basilaris var. aurea (E.M.Baxter) W.T.Marshall
Opuntia erinacea var. aurea (E.M.Baxter) S.L.Welsh
Opuntia lubrica var. aurea (E.M.Baxter) Backeb.

Flowers

In flower: May (from 78 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Shrub, Tree
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Lower 48 states: native

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Robbie Hannawacker, CC0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Arvel Hernandez, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Arvel Hernandez, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Michael J. Papay, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Andrew Dudley, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Wendy Cutler from Vancouver, Canada, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Grant Chovil, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Wendy Cutler from Vancouver, Canada, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Andrew Dudley, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Howard Cheng from Thousand Oaks, CA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Opuntia

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.