opuntia

o·pun·ti·a  (-pnsh-, -sh)

n.

Any of various cacti of the genus Opuntia, especially the prickly pear.

---

[Latin (herba) Opntia, Opuntian (herb), feminine of Opntius, of Opus, an ancient town of east-central Greece, from Ops, Opnt-, Opus, from Greek Opous, Opount-.]

---

opuntia [ɒˈpʌnʃɪə]

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants) any cactus of the genus Opuntia, esp prickly pear, having fleshy branched stems and green, red, or yellow flowers

[New Latin, from Latin Opuntia (herba) the Opuntian (plant), from Opus, ancient town of Locris, Greece]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

Opuntia - large genus of cactuses native to America: prickly pears genus Opuntia caryophylloid dicot genus - genus of relatively early dicotyledonous plants including mostly flowers Cactaceae, cactus family, family Cactaceae - constituting the order Opuntiales prickly pear, prickly pear cactus - cacti having spiny flat joints and oval fruit that is edible in some species; often used as food for stock cholla, Opuntia cholla - arborescent cacti having very spiny cylindrical stem segments; southwestern United States and Mexico