Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw., Syn. Pl. Succ. 191 1812. (syn: Cactus opuntia var. inermis DC.; Cactus strictus Haw.; Consolea bahamana (Britton & Rose) A.Berger; Opuntia airampo Phil.; Opuntia bahamana Britton & Rose; Opuntia balearica F.A.C.Weber ex Hirscht; Opuntia bartramii Raf.; Opuntia bentonii Griffiths; Opuntia dillenii var. reitzii Scheinvar; Opuntia inermis (DC.) DC.; Opuntia keyensis Britton ex Small; Opuntia longiclada Griffiths; Opuntia magnifica Small; Opuntia nejapensis Bravo; Opuntia parva A.Berger; Opuntia stricta subsp. esparzae Scheinvar; Opuntia stricta var. reitzii (Scheinvar) Scheinvar & A.Rodr.; Opuntia tenuiflora Small; Opuntia vulgaris var. balaerica F.A.C.Weber; Pilocereus flavispinus Rümpler; Pilocereus nobilis K.Schum.);
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SE. U.S.A. to E. & S. Mexico: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, South Carolina, Texas; Introduced into: Albania, Algeria, Andaman Is., Angola, Bahamas, Baleares, Benin, Bermuda, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Cayman Is., China South-Central, China Southeast, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, France, Free State, Greece, Hainan, Haiti, India, Italy, Jamaica, KwaZulu-Natal, Leeward Is., Libya, Madeira, Morocco, Namibia, New Caledonia, New South Wales, Nicobar Is., North Caucasus, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Peru, Puerto Rico, Queensland, Senegal, Sicilia, South Australia, Spain, Swaziland, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turks-Caicos Is., Venezuelan Antilles, Victoria, Western Australia, Windward Is. as per POWO;
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Common name: Erect Prickly Pear • Bengali: নাগফনা Nagphana • Gujarati: chorhathalo • Hindi: हाथहथौड़िया Hathhathoria, नागफना Naghphana • Kannada: ಪಪಸ್ಕಲ್ಲೀ Papaskalli, Chappatigalli • Malayalam: Palakakkali, നാഗമുല്ലു Nagamullu • Marathi: Chapal • Oriya: Nagophenia • Sanskrit: mahavriksha, vajrakantaka • Tamil: Nagathali, Sappathikalli • Telugu: nagajemudu, nagadali
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accidental escapee?
Yes for certain, …
it does not flower in wet places. only in deserts, and that too in the heat and when water starved
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References: POWO Catalogue of Life The Plant List Ver.1.1 IPNI GBIF (High resolution specimens) Flora of North America Flowers of India India Biodiversity Portal Wikipedia Useful Tropical Plants CABI Lucid Central
