Big Pine Key Prickly-pear vs Purple Prickly-pear

Opuntia triacantha compared with Opuntia macrocentra

Key Differences

• Big Pine Key Prickly-pear is Near Threatened while Purple Prickly-pear is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Big Pine Key Prickly-pear	Purple Prickly-pear
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family same	Cactaceae	Cactaceae
Genus same	Opuntia	Opuntia
Species	Opuntia triacantha	Opuntia macrocentra

Evolutionary Relationship

Big Pine Key Prickly-pear and Purple Prickly-pear share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Opuntia.

Conservation Status

Big Pine Key Prickly-pear

NT — Near Threatened

Purple Prickly-pear

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Big Pine Key Prickly-pear	Purple Prickly-pear
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Big Pine Key Prickly-pear

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Purple Prickly-pear

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found in Brazil.

Big Pine Key Prickly-pear

The Big Pine Key Prickly-pear (Opuntia triacantha) is a species in the genus Opuntia. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.