Opuntia pailana Opuntia pailana Opuntia pailana is a species of the genus "Opuntia" in the family Cactaceae. The name "pailana" comes from the sierra de la Paila in the state of Coahuila Mexico where it was discovered. The first description was published by Wilhelm Weingart in 1929 in the book "Monatsschrift der Deutschen Kakteen-Gesellschaft". Band 1, Nummer 9, 1929, S. 167–169. As most of the species of the genus Opuntia, "Opuntia pailana" is a shruby plant with cladodes (leaves racket-shaped) up to one meter high. The cladods are in color blue-green or when getting older green-yellow, 10 to 14 centimeters long and
Opuntia ovaries per carpel. Placentation is parietal, and the fruit is a berry with arillate seeds. Prickly pear species can vary greatly in habit; most are shrubs, but some, such as "Opuntia echios" of the Galápagos, are trees. "O. ficus-indica" thrives in regions with mild winters having a prolonged dry spell followed by hot summers with occasional rain and relatively low humidity. A mean annual rainfall of provides good growth rates. "O. ficus-indica" proliferates in various soils ranging from sub-acid to sub-alkaline, with clay content not exceeding 15-20% and the soil well-drained. The shallow root system enables the plant to grow