Erect Pricklypear vs Sour Prickle

Opuntia stricta compared with Opuntia dillenii

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Erect Pricklypear	Sour Prickle
Kingdom same	Plantae (Pflanzen)	Plantae (Pflanzen)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Caryophyllales (Nelkenartige)	Caryophyllales (Nelkenartige)
Family same	Cactaceae	Cactaceae
Genus same	Opuntia	Opuntia
Species	Opuntia stricta	Opuntia dillenii

Evolutionary Relationship

Erect Pricklypear and Sour Prickle share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Opuntia.

Conservation Status

Erect Pricklypear

NE — Not Evaluated

Sour Prickle

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Erect Pricklypear	Sour Prickle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Erect Pricklypear

Habitat

Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (13 countries), Asia (8 countries), Europe (8 countries), North America (Cuba), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, Solomon Islands), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

Sour Prickle

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Madagascar), Asia (5 countries), Europe (4 countries), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 10 countries:

🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇳 China 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇹 Italy 🇲🇬 Madagascar 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇹🇼 Taiwan