Nopal Tapón

Wheel Cactus

Opuntia robusta

"Although I originated from Mexico, now you can find me in many different countries to gather the cochineal from which carmine is obtained!"

Wheel Cactus

Most Attractive Features

It's prickly pears and "spikes" are used as a food source by many insects and herbivores. Animals such as birds, and bats and insect pollinate the Wheel Cactus's flowers. For example, many species of bats, dessert rodents, and turtles use the Wheel cactus's spikes as their main source of food. While bee, butterfly and bat species pollinate the flowers on its surface.

Classification:

Kingdom; Plantae • Division; Magnoliophyta • Class; Magnoliopsida • Order; Caryphyllales • Family; Cactaceae • Genus; Opuntia • Species; robusta

Ecological Importance

The resources that the wheel cactus provides is very important ecologically because many animals that live in the dessert areas of Mexico and other countries rely on this plant as it's main source of food. Without it, these species could easily die out. It is also ecologically important because certain butterfly, bee, and bat species need the Wheel Cactus to pollinate (also as a source of food).

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❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀

Wheel Cactus are normally found in desert biomes. They are mainly distributed around North and Central Mexico but have begun to expand to other desert climate countries around the world.

The temperatures usually rise to a little over 38 C and in the night will go down to around -3.9 C.
There is very little rainfall in the desert, so most plants can survive for long period without water
Aridisol soils are the most common soils (dry or clay soils).
The Wheel Cactus shares its space with many other types of cacti, shrubs, etc... that grow in the desert
It also shares habitat with different insects, reptiles, and bat species.

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Map of the Opuntia (Cacti) species distribution throughout Mexico

Simple food chain of the Wheel Cactus's habitat (with the wheel cactus as the main producer).

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Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is when a plant uses energy from the sun to as its food source to survive. Then, it produces oxygen, which mammals (like humans) need!

The Wheel Cactus is a very common plant and is currently not endagered. In fact, it has actually been growing in numbers in recent years.

Because the plant is so common, it may seem like we dont need to put in effort to conserve it, but it is still important.

Planting more Wheel Cactuses in their natural habitat helps conserve the plant and allow its population to grow
- while still helping species that benefit from it

Using infographics or informational videos (or websites like these) could help inform people on why the plant is important and should be conserved.

This plant is unique in our green roof because it has a different structure than other cacti; being thicker in terms of it's palm and its pines. It also bares a unique fruit and blossom than other plants in the greenroof.

Endangerment, Economics, and Conservation

Economic Value:

The plant does not have much economic value compared to other plant resources. It can produce a lot of the same things as other cactus species.

- It has a unique fruit that grows uniquely to the wheel cactus species
- It has a history of being used as hedging or as a barrier due to its sharp spikes and pines.

Cultural Value:

Although the plant isn't as practical for use in cultural practices as other fruit or cactus plants, the same rituals or practices can still be applied
- e.g. use of cactus fruit and palm as food, and even drinking and using the water/juices for other purposes.
Like other cactus species, the wheel cactus originated in Mexico, so it has great cultural importance there ((symbolizing endurance and freedom).

Evolution and Adaptation

The wheel cactus has many different features that help it survive. For example, the most common one they use is their spines and spikes all over the plant's palms. This stops any unwanted attention from predators and only allows certain animals access to the plant that aren´t affected by its pines. It also survives by having such thick leaves and roots; allowing it to survive in the desert climate with little water for a long time. The thickness of the palms and spikes of the cactus are contributed to microevolution as these got thicker over time. This also connects to it's macroevolution over time.

Some common ancestors that show divergent evolution over time include; leafy tree species with strong barks. This shows divergent evolution as cacti and succulents are now very distinct from trees yet share similar traits like thick barks and very abundant blooms/fruits, showing common ancestry. This also shows a key homologous structure being the thick bark of the trees and the thick palms and roots of the cacti.

MLA Work Cited

“Wheel Cactus.” Agriculture Victoria, Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, 9 May 2024, agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/weeds/weeds-information/wheel-cactus.

Wendl, J.C. “Opuntia Robusta.” LLIFLE, www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/CACTI/Family/Cactaceae/32724/Opuntia_robusta. Accessed 28 May 2024.

“Nopal Tapón (Opuntia Robusta).” iNaturalist, www.inaturalist.org/taxa/78270-Opuntia-robusta. Accessed 28 May 2024.

“Opuntia Robusta.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Apr. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia_robusta.

Alam-Eldein, Shamel, and Ahmad Omar. “(PDF) Cultivation and Cultural Practices of Opuntia Spp..” ResearchGate , www.researchgate.net/publication/354854505_Cultivation_and_Cultural_Practices_of_Opuntia_spp. Accessed 29 May 2024.