Opuntia lindheimeri lindheimeri" is no exception. Opuntia lindheimeri Opuntia lindheimeri is s cactus which is treated by some botanists as a species separate and distinct from "O. engelmannii". Britton and Rose also considered that "O. lindheimeri" is a stand-alone species as did Engelmann who described it in 1850. The point is not settled, and other botanists accept "O. lindheimeri" as a variety of "O. engelmannii". Whatever their taxonomic relationship, the plants are easily distinguished when grown side-by-side and do not generally overlap in their natural ranges. Almost any large "Opuntia" in TX, NM, or AZ has probably been misidentified or misunderstood over
Opuntia ficus-indica the plants are used as fodder. In these cases, the spines need to be removed from the pads to avoid damage to the animals. Mostly, this is achieved by burning the spines off the pads. "Opuntia ficus-indica" for human and animal consumption is its water content in an arid environment, containing about 85% water as a water source for wildlife. The seeds contain 3-10% of protein and 6-13% of fatty acids, mainly linoleic acid. As the fruit contains vitamin C (containing 25–30 mg per 100g), it was once used to mitigate scurvy. "Opuntia" contains selenium. The red color of the