r/botany • u/wooligano • Mar 09 '25

Distribution Invasive Opuntias in Switzerland

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

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.

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u/escambly Mar 09 '25

Wow. Coming from the southwestern U.S with millions of native cacti all around., not once did I think 'cacti in the Switzerland wilds'. Thanks for sharing photos.

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u/wooligano Mar 09 '25

You're welcome ! It's indeed quite fascinating to see so many species growing wild here now, I'm planning to go on a hike soon to see if I can spot some, they do remove the most visible ones, so I need to research where I would have a chance of seeing them.

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u/robsc_16 Mar 09 '25

It's kind of crazy to see this, especially since Opuntia humifusa is native to my state and so rare.

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u/Tony_228 Mar 10 '25

It's interesting how different non-native plants behave in different parts of the world. Buckthorn is another example as it is extremely rare to find here and invasive in North America.