Opuntia lindheimeri 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 the years, and "O.
Opuntia bentonii (less inclinded to narrow at the base). "O. bentonii" plants have fewer spines than "O. lindheimeri", zero to 3 (often only 1 or 2). One important difference is that the stigmas of "O. bentonii" flowers are yellow and not green as in "O. lindheimeri." Another individual feature of "O. bentonii" is that the veins are often visible between areoles. 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