Opuntia engelmannii Opuntia engelmannii Opuntia engelmannii is a prickly pear common across the south-central and Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It goes by a variety of common names, including cow's tongue cactus, cow tongue prickly pear, desert prickly pear, discus prickly pear, Engelmann's prickly pear, and Texas prickly pear in the US, and nopal, abrojo, joconostle, and vela de coyote in Mexico. The nomenclatural history of this species is somewhat complicated due to the varieties, as well as its habit of hybridizing with "Opuntia phaeacantha". The "Opuntia engelmannii" range extends from California to Louisiana in the United States, and from Sonora
Opuntia basilaris These are more or less blue-gray, depending on variety, long and less than wide and thick. They are typically spineless, but have instead many small barbed bristles, called glochids, that easily penetrate the skin. "Opuntia basilaris" blooms from spring to early summer. The species is variable in nature and several names under different ranks have been described. Only four of these are generally accepted. Some experts consider the Trelease's beavertail to be a full species (Bowen 1987, R. van de Hoek). It is unique among the varieties of "Opuntia basilaris" in that the areoles contain spines in addition to the