Opuntia Cactus is also an excellent fodder crop for animals and are very useful to grow under arid and dryland regions. In some parts of India they are being promoted as fodder crops. The coat of arms of Mexico depicts a Mexican golden eagle, perched upon an "Opuntia" cactus, holding a rattlesnake. According to the official history of Mexico, the coat of arms is inspired by an Aztec legend regarding the founding of Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs, then a nomadic tribe, were wandering throughout Mexico in search of a divine sign to indicate the precise spot upon which they were to build
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