Opuntia jamaicensis Ghost - Jamaica prickly pear

Opuntia jamaicensis 'Ghost' is a modest-sized prickly pear cactus, remarkable for the colour of its epidermis. Its elongated, light to medium green prickly pears are marbled with white or yellow, depending on the specimen. It grows as a small, highly branched shrub, usually as wide as it is tall, most often under 1 m in height. This very drought-tolerant, sun-loving, unusual variety can be grown in the ground in regions with truly mild winters. In colder regions, it is essential to grow it in a pot so that it can be sheltered during the winter. It also makes an ideal plant for a conservatory, coping very well with high summer temperatures.

The Opuntia genus belongs to the large Cactaceae family, which comprises nearly 90 genera with highly varied shapes. Among them are spherical forms, like the cute little Mammillaria, columnar, candle-like plants such as Trichocereus terscheckii, cacti with cylindrical segments branching into small trees like Cylindropuntia imbricata and many other astonishing plants. With around 250 species, Opuntia is one of the most important genera in this family. The best-known species is undoubtedly the prickly pear (figuier de Barbarie), native to Mexico, now widely naturalised in the Mediterranean basin, where its fruits are consumed. Opuntias are called "prickly pear cacti" because of their characteristic silhouette made up of flattened segments that branch naturally. In these plants, the prickly pears are not leaves, but modified stems called cladodes that carry out photosynthesis. Their surface bears areoles, which are transformed buds. These areoles produce glochidia, tiny, very fine prickles that are particularly irritating to the skin, even in species without large thorns. They also often produce one or more longer, clearly visible thorns.
As its name suggests, the type species Opuntia jamaicensis is native to Jamaica, where it grows in dry, open savannahs with a tropical climate. 'Ghost' is a horticultural selection, so called because of its slightly ghostly appearance. It forms a low clump reaching approximately 80 cm in height and 60 to 80 cm in width when mature. Its prickly pears are obovate in shape with a slightly narrowed base, averaging about ten centimetres in length and about five centimetres in width. Their base colour, a light to darker green, is curiously variegated with light yellow or white. Some prickly pears are irregularly marbled, others have entire discoloured patches, and in extreme cases, a whole segment may lack chlorophyll. The areoles are equipped with glochidia and may carry one to three, or even four, generally short thorns (about 2 cm). In plants which are two or three years old, flowering usually begins in May or June and ends in July. The flowers are short-lived but regularly renewed, and reach about 4 to 5 cm in diameter. They are a sulphur yellow colour with a centre composed of pale yellow stamens with white anthers, and appear on the edges of the prickly pears. After flowering, the plant produces decorative, edible reddish fruits (with little taste) that should be handled with care, as they too bear glochidia.

Opuntia jamaicensis 'Ghost' will particularly interest collectors due to its rarity and strange appearance. In very mild gardens, where it can thrive outdoors, it will grow with other odd-looking succulents such as Mangave Mangavé Inkblot with its curious blue-green leaves spotted with purple, or Agave multifilifera, known as the unkempt Agave due to the numerous white filaments that develop on the margins of its leaves. In colder regions, enthusiasts of prickly pear cacti can grow it as an orangery plant, sheltering it in winter in a conservatory. They may also favour hardier species such as Opuntia macrocentra, some of whose prickly pears take on an incredible purple hue!