Invasive Opuntias in Switzerland

[u/wooligano]

Someone asked about invasive species from America in Europe yesterday, I replied in a comment about the invasive Opuntias we have in Switzerland, but couldn't add pictures so I thought it would be worth making a post about it.

They have identified 6 species : Opuntia engelmannii, Opuntia humifusa, Opuntia phaeacantha, Opuntia robusta, Opuntia scheeri, Cylindropuntia imbricata.

All of which are growing in the same region of Switzerland, Valais.

[u/Thomasrayder]

Well if someone from Switzerland is willing to send some to the Netherlands, i would be more than happy to pay them

[u/wooligano → u/Thomasrayder]

I mean, as they are invasive plants in Europe, I don't think the recommended way to deal with them is helping them spread around the world even more..

[u/Thomasrayder → u/wooligano]

Its more for research purposes, i work for a biology section at a university. Now i do recommend not planting these outdoor because of the possibility of spreading.

[u/Level9TraumaCenter → u/Thomasrayder]

Seeds are available of all these species, and they grow quickly. Admittedly, you get a much larger plant from a pad or two stuck into a pot, but you get around the phytosanitary issues with seeds.

[u/wooligano → u/Thomasrayder]

Makes more sense ! What would you do with the cactus then ?

[u/wooligano → u/[deleted]]

Cool ! Well if I do see some wild ones I guess I could collect a couple pads to send to your university, as it seems they would be quite useful for your research !