Opuntia anahuacensis Opuntia anahuacensis Opuntia anahuacensis is a cactus species in the "Opuntia" genus and a member of the Opuntioideae. It grows along the Gulf Coast of Texas, and perhaps northern Mexico. The plants are short, perhaps 1- or 2-ft tall, but they are wide. Some thickets may be 20- to 40-ft across and composed of multiple plants. The fruit is purplish. The cladodes are uniquely shaped, obovate with a neck. The original description claimed the plants were yellowish green, but they may be green or rarely blue-green. As with any largish "Opuntia" in the USA, "O. anahuacensis" has been mistaken for
Opuntia engelmannii (state) to the Tamaulipan matorral in Chihuahua (state), in Mexico. In the Sonoran Desert, terminal pads face predominantly east-west, so as to maximize the absorption of solar radiation during summer rains. Although found occasionally in the Mojave Desert, it tends to be replaced by "Opuntia basilaris", which does not need the summer rain. The overall form of "Opuntia engelmannii" is generally shrubby, with dense clumps up to high, usually with no apparent trunk. The pads are green (rarely blue-green), obovate to round, about 15–30 cm long and 12–20 cm wide. The glochids are yellow initially, then brown with age. Spines