Opuntia erinacea, the Mojave prickly pear, variously treated as a species, or as a variety of Opuntia polyacantha,[1] in the family Cactaceae, that is a distributed throughout the Mojave and into the southern Great Basin deserts.
| Mojave prickly pear | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Genus: | Opuntia |
| Species: | O. erinacea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Opuntia erinacea | |
Opuntia erinacea is proposed by A.D. Stock to be an allopolyploid that resulted from hybridization between Opuntia diploursina and Opuntia basilaris.;[2] although ties with other varieties of Opuntia polyacantha are also strongly evident.