Species · genus Opuntia · Cactaceae
Santa Rita Prickly Pear
Opuntia santa-rita (Griffiths & Hare) Rose
Also known as: Purple Prickly Pear · Blue Blade Cactus
Cultivars of O. santa-rita
The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.
No named cultivars catalogued under O. santa-rita yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.
Guide
The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.
The Purple Prickly Pear
Opuntia gosseliniana, commonly called the purple prickly pear, is a cactus in the family Cactaceae. It is also known under the name Opuntia santarita, a synonym still used in the trade.
Source: RHS
A Name With History
The plant carries a tangled naming history, having been published as Opuntia gosseliniana var. santa-rita by Griffiths and Hare, later reassessed by L.D. Benson in 1950. Kew's Plants of the World Online now treats this variety name as a synonym folded into the wider species Opuntia gosseliniana.
Source: Kew
Pad-Like Stems and Spines
As with others in the Opuntia genus, this plant carries flattened, pad-like stem segments armed with spines and barbed bristles. Its growth habit within the genus can range from creeping to bushy to tree-like, and it produces funnel-shaped flowers followed by spiny, fleshy fruits.
Source: RHS
Care recipe
The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.
Care notes are early — not yet verified
- Light
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Water
- ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d)
- Humidity
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Soil
- ai:claude-fable-5
- Care
- ai:claude-fable-5
Direct sun
≈ every 30 days
Low — average room
5–35 °C
Fast-draining cactus mix with added pumice and grit
Callus and root a detached purple pad in dry mix
Occasional dilute cactus feed in the growing season
Slow
Bright yellow flowers in full sun; rare indoors
Not yet documented
This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.
Reference images
Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.
PrimarySources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d) · ai:claude-fable-5
Kept true by its growers
Every fact here carries its source. Grow Santa Rita Prickly Pear yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.
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