Prickly pears in Australia

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A monument to the Cactoblastis cactorum moth at Dalby, Queensland. Cactoblastis monument, Dalby, Queensland, Australia.jpg
A monument to the Cactoblastis cactorum moth at Dalby, Queensland.
Prickly pear forest circa 1930 Queensland State Archives 3035 Prickly pear forest c 1930.png
Prickly pear forest circa 1930
Infestation of O. tomentosa 2019, near Yelarbon, Queensland Tree cacti Opuntia tomentosaYellow Bank Reserve Dumaresq RIMG 20190607 135320.jpg
Infestation of O. tomentosa 2019, near Yelarbon, Queensland

Prickly pears (genus Opuntia ) include a number of plant species that were introduced and have become invasive in Australia.

Contents

Prickly pears (mostly Opuntia stricta ) were imported into Australia in the First Fleet as hosts of cochineal insects, used in the dye industry. [1] Many of these, especially the tiger pear , quickly became widespread invasive species, rendering 40,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi) of farming land unproductive. [2] The moth Cactoblastis cactorum from Argentina, whose larvae eat prickly pear, was introduced in 1925 and almost wiped out the prickly pear. This case is often cited as an example of successful biological pest control. [3] [4]

A monument to Cactoblastis cactorum was erected in Dalby, Queensland, commemorating the eradication of the prickly pear in the region. The Cactoblastis Memorial Hall in Boonarga, Queensland, also commemorates the eradication. [5]

Species

These Opuntia species are recorded as naturalised in Australia: [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nopal</span> Fruit of the Opuntia cactus

Nopal is a common name in Spanish for Opuntia cacti, as well as for its pads. The name nopal derives from the Nahuatl word nohpalli for the pads of the plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Invasive species in Australia</span>

Invasive species in Australia are a serious threat to the native biodiversity, and an ongoing cost to Australian agriculture. Numerous species arrived with European maritime exploration and colonisation of Australia and steadily since then.

<i>Opuntia ficus-indica</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia ficus-indica, the Indian fig opuntia, fig opuntia, or prickly pear, is a species of cactus that has long been a domesticated crop plant grown in agricultural economies throughout arid and semiarid parts of the world. O. ficus-indica is the most widespread and most commercially important cactus. It is grown primarily as a fruit crop, and also for the vegetable nopales and other uses. Cacti are good crops for dry areas because they efficiently convert water into biomass. O. ficus-indica, as the most widespread of the long-domesticated cactuses, is as economically important as maize and blue agave in Mexico. Opuntia species hybridize easily, but the wild origin of O. ficus-indica is likely to have been in central Mexico, where its closest genetic relatives are found.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean White-Haney</span> Australian botanist

Rose Ethel Janet White-Haney, known as Jean White-Haney, was a botanist in Queensland, Australia. She was officer-in-charge of the Queensland Board of Advice on Prickly Pear Destruction and helped develop biological control methods for managing the invasive cactus.

<i>Cactoblastis cactorum</i> Species of moth

Cactoblastis cactorum, the cactus moth, South American cactus moth or nopal moth, is native to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil. It is one of five species in the genus Cactoblastis that inhabit South America, where many parasitoids, predators and pathogens control the expansion of the moths' population. This species has been introduced into many areas outside its natural range, including Australia, the Caribbean, and South Africa. In some locations, it has spread uncontrollably and was consequently classified an invasive species. However, in other places such as Australia, it has gained favor for its role in the biological control of cacti from the genus Opuntia, such as prickly pear.

<i>Opuntia stricta</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia stricta is a species of large cactus that is endemic to the subtropical and tropical coastal areas of the Americas, especially around the Caribbean. Common names include erect prickly pear and nopal estricto (Spanish). The first description as Cactus strictus was published in 1803 by Adrian Hardy Haworth. In 1812 he moved the species to the genus Opuntia.

<i>Opuntia bentonii</i> Species of cactus

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.

<i>Opuntia</i> Genus of cactus

Opuntia, commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Cacti are well-adapted to aridity, however, they are still vulnerable to alterations in precipitation and temperature driven by climate change. Prickly pear alone is more commonly used to refer exclusively to the fruit, but may also be used for the plant itself; in addition, other names given to the plant and its specific parts include tuna (fruit), sabra, sabbar, nopal from the Nahuatl word nōpalli, nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word nōchtli, and paddle cactus. The genus is named for the Ancient Greek city of Opus, where, according to Theophrastus, an edible plant grew and could be propagated by rooting its leaves. The most common culinary species is the "Barbary fig".

<i>Opuntia aurantiaca</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia aurantiaca, commonly known as tiger-pear, jointed cactus or jointed prickly-pear, is a species of cactus from South America. The species occurs naturally in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and is considered an invasive species in Africa and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phycitinae</span> Subfamily of moths

The Phycitinae are a subfamily of snout moths. Even though the Pyralidae subfamilies are all quite diverse, Phycitinae stand out even by standards of their family: with over 600 genera considered valid and more than 4000 species placed here at present, they unite up more than three-quarters of living snout moth diversity. Together with the closely related Epipaschiinae, they are apparently the most advanced lineage of snout moths.

<i>Opuntia triacantha</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia triacantha is a species of cactus known by the common names Spanish lady, Keys Joe-jumper, Big Pine Key prickly-pear, and jumping prickly apple. It is native to the Caribbean, from Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico, to the Lesser Antilles.

<i>Dactylopius</i> Genus of insects

Dactylopius is a genus of insect in the superfamily Coccoidea, the scale insects. It is the only genus in the family Dactylopiidae. These insects are known commonly as cochineals, a name that also specifically refers to the best-known species, the cochineal. The cochineal is an insect of economic and historical importance as a main source of the red dye carmine. It has reportedly been used for this purpose in the Americas since the 10th century. Genus Dactylopius is also important because several species have been used as agents of biological pest control, and because several are known as invasive species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Harvey Johnston</span> Australian biologist and parasitologist

Thomas Harvey Johnston was an Australian biologist and parasitologist. He championed the efforts to eradicate the invasive prickly pear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cactoblastis Memorial Hall</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Cactoblastis Memorial Hall is a heritage-listed memorial at Warrego Highway, Boonarga, Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1936 by Jack Schloss. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 September 1993.

<i>Opuntia rufida</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia rufida is a species of prickly pear cactus native to southwestern Texas and northern Mexico, where it grows on rocky slopes. The species makes up for its total lack of spines with a profusion of red-brown glochids. The common name blind prickly pear or cow blinder comes from the fact that the glochids may be carried away by the wind and blind animals.

<i>Opuntia cespitosa</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia cespitosa, commonly called the eastern prickly pear, is a species of cactus native to North America. It is most common west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi River, where it is found in the Midwest, Upper South and in Ontario. Its natural habitat is in dry, open areas, such as outcrops, glades, and barrens.

Opuntia ficus-indica is a plant that has been part of the landscape of South Africa for over 250 years.

Springdale is a rural locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Springdale had a population of 28 people.

<i>Opuntia austrina</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia austrina, also known as the Florida prickly pear, is a prickly pear cactus species that is endemic to Florida in the United States.

<i>Dactylopius opuntiae</i> Species of scale insect

Dactylopius opuntiae, also known as the prickly pear cochineal, is a species of scale insect in the family Dactylopiidae.

References

  1. "The Prickly Pear Story" (PDF). Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Queensland Government. July 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  2. "Reclaiming a Lost Province—1". The Courier-mail . No. 966. Queensland, Australia. 3 October 1936. p. 22. Retrieved 25 December 2022 via National Library of Australia.
  3. J. H. Hoffmanna, V. C. Morana and D. A. Zellerb (May 1998). "Evaluation ofCactoblastis cactorum(Lepidoptera: Phycitidae) as a Biological Control Agent of Opuntia stricta (Cactaceae) in the Kruger National Park, South Africa". Biological Control. 12 (1): 20–24. doi:10.1006/bcon.1998.0608.
  4. "National Archives of Australia on Instagram: "Let's try tanks and flamethrowers! Spreading at the rate of a million acres a year by 1919, the prickly pear was out of control. Our latest blog by Penny O'Hara for #NationalScienceWeek reveals the peculiar ways Australians attempted to stop this thorny pest, before discovering a scientific breakthrough with an Argentinean moth. Link in bio. Image: 1920s map illustrating the scale of prickly pear infestation. NAA: B5626, 306 #StoriesFromTheArchives"". Instagram. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  5. "Cactoblastis Memorial Hall (entry 601273)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  6. "Opuntia". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. Retrieved 18 July 2012.