Opuntia aurantiaca Opuntia aurantiaca Opuntia aurantiaca, commonly known as tiger-pear, jointed cactus or jointed prickly-pear, is a species of cactus from South America. The species occurs naturally in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and is considered an invasive species in Africa and Australia. It was declared a Weed of National Significance by the Australian Weeds Committee in April 2012, and was reported by the Committee to be the most troublesome of all cactus species in New South Wales and the worst Opuntia species in Queensland. It is currently controlled biologically in Australia using the cochineal insect "Dactylopius austrinus", and to a lesser extent
Opuntia bentonii Opuntia bentonii Opuntia bentonii was proposed by some botanists to be a synonym of "Opuntia stricta". However, "O. bentonii", which grows in Texas, is separate and distinct from "O. stricta." "O. bentonii" was clearly described by Griffiths in 1911. Along with "O. stricta","O. bentonii" was one of the pest pears of Australia in the early Twentieth Century. Like so many "Opuntia" species, "O. bentonii" has been mistaken for a coastal form of "O. lindheimeri" in Texas, but there are sustained differences. For instance, "O. bentonii" plants are often less than 60 cm in height and the fruit is more globular