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Opuntia chiangiana, the xoconostle or Chiang's prickly pear, is a tall, spiny prickly pear cactus from the Cuicatlán region of Oaxaca, Mexico, grown mainly for its acidic reddish-purple fruit. It needs full sun, excellent drainage and little water, much like other prickly pears.
Opuntia chiangiana, commonly known as Chiang's prickly pear or the xoconostle, is a species of prickly pear cactus in the family Cactaceae. It was described by Léia Scheinvar and Gladys Manzanero in 2009. The species was named in honor of Fernando Chiang, who was a professor at the Institute of Biology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
It is endemic to the Cuicatlán District, Oaxaca, Mexico, where it grows exclusively in the subtropical zone. It is rare throughout its smaller-sized habitat, with scattered individuals and groupings. The species was introduced to India, most likely as an ornamental cactus.
Opuntia chiangiana is used almost primarily for its fruit, that potentially could fetch profit at a local farmers market, or in plain wholesale.
Big Pine Key Prickly Pear · Chenille pricklypear · Texas Plains Pricklypear · Devil's-tongue · Opuntia anacantha · Opuntia anahuacensis · Sand Prickly Pear · Border pricklypear · Opuntia auberi · Tiger-pear · Golden pricklypear · Devil's-tongue
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Opuntia chiangiana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
