Opuntia cacti of North America -: An overview

The Cactaceae are a diversified group of New World plants with a wide array of evolutionary and ecological strategies that has given them the ability to adapt to many different habitats, The family is both interesting and challenging because of its varied morphology, adaptations to the environment, and reproductive systems. Of the groups Within the cactus family, the opuntias are one of the most successful and widespread, but they exhibit many taxonomic difficulties and are, therefore, not well understood.