Blackboard Tree vs Panhandle Prickly-pear

Alstonia scholaris compared with Opuntia polyacantha

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blackboard Tree	Panhandle Prickly-pear
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Gentianales (Gentianales)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Apocynaceae	Cactaceae
Genus	Alstonia	Opuntia
Species	Alstonia scholaris	Opuntia polyacantha

Evolutionary Relationship

Blackboard Tree and Panhandle Prickly-pear share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

Blackboard Tree

LC — Least Concern

Panhandle Prickly-pear

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blackboard Tree	Panhandle Prickly-pear
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blackboard Tree

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Oceanian biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Micronesia, Taiwan, and United States.

Panhandle Prickly-pear

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Australia and Czech Republic.

Blackboard Tree

The Blackboard Tree (Alstonia scholaris) is a species in the genus Alstonia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Oceanian biogeographic realm.