Opuntia stricta
Opuntia stricta
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 41%
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 30 Florida counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 84 animals.
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- Swallow-tailed KiteElanoides forficatus
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- White-crowned PigeonPatagioenas leucocephala
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
Who uses this plant?
12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Opuntia
- Dicymolomia julianalisJulia's Dicymolomia
- Euxoa auxiliarisArmy Cut-Worm, Army Cutworm
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Laetilia coccidivoraScale-Feeding Snout
- Marmara opuntiellaX
- Melitara prodenialisEastern Cactus-Boring Moth, Eastern Blue Cactus Borer
- Erelieva quantulella
- Eurythmia hospitella
- Loxomorpha cambogialis
- Loxomorpha flavidissimalis
Show all 12
- Menesta tortriciformella
- Ozamia lucidalis
25BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Opuntia
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
5Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Opuntia
- Diadasia australis
- Diadasia piercei
- Lithurgopsis gibbosa
- Lithurgopsis littoralis
- Macrotera texana
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Opuntia
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Leptotila verreauxiWhite-tipped Dove
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- CACTACEAE
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S3S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4? |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications













