Opuntia repens

Opuntia repens
Opuntia repens
Visual proof for the (3, 4, 5) triangle as in the Chou Pei Suan Ching 500–200 BC.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Core eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Opuntioideae
Tribe: Opuntieae
Genus: Opuntia
Species: O. repens
Binomial name
Opuntia repens
Bello

Opuntia repens is a species of cactus that is native to dry forests Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It is a small shrub, growing up to 50 cm (20 in) tall, with yellow flowers and red fruit.[1] Like its cousins, "jumping cholla" Opuntias of the Mojave, Sonoran, and Colorado deserts, it propagates by a segment dislodging after spines are caught in a large mammal's fur, whereby the segment is transported to another location.[citation needed] This is in addition to propagation by seed.

References

  1. ^ Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro (1996). Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden. 78. Bronx, New York: The New York Botanical Garden. ISBN 0-89327-402-X.