Opuntia engelmannii Salm-Dyck dalam Bahasa Indonesia klik di sini
Opuntia engelmannii Salm-Dyck

Source: Private document, 2022

Taxonomy
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Traceophyta
Subphylum: Spermatophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Opuntia
Spesies: Opuntia Engelmannii Salm-Dyck
(Hort & Dyck, 1849)

  
Stem

Fruit
Source: Private document, 2022

Morphology
According to the Committee Flora of North America Editorial (2014), this type of cactus is also called prickly pear cactus, generally growing widely, reaching 1-3 m in height, circular, oblong or rhombic with a diameter of 15-40 cm. This plant has spines that are 10-40 mm long, usually white or yellow, and turn gray to black by age. This plant is generally flowering 30-40 mm long, has yellow or pink color.

Distribution & Habitat
According to USDA-NRCS (2015) opuntia engelmannii is a true desert in rocky or shallow plant. It is also mentioned that this plant prefers to grow in rather humid soil. Just like other opuntia, it generally grows in hot and dry areas. This plant is originally from subtropical region of North America. Although most opuntia only grows in dry and hot areas, engelmannii is a type of opuntia that is able to withstand frost.

Potential
Opuntia engelmannii is a type of cacti that has edible fruit for consumed. The fruit is rich in healthy compounds for the body, including high fiber, antioxidant, and containing carotenoid. This plant contains natural coloring pigments, namely betanin that produces the red color, indicaxanthin produces a yellow color and chlorophyll. In addition, this plant contains a lot of antioxidant such as vitamin C, tocopherol, beta-carotene, betanin, and indicaxanthin (Anwar, 2015).

Usability
This plant contains many subtances beneficial for the human body, such as to protect cells from free radicals. Its fruit contains antioxidant, helps the digestive process and maintains endurance because the flesh fruit contains a lot of fiber. This plant can be used to prevent lung cancer and skin cancer because it contains carotenoid and antioxidant compounds that can utilize to prevent the growth of cancer cells. In addition, this cactus can be used as a natural preservative (Anwar, 2015).

References
Anwar. 2015. Pemanfaatan Ekstrak Daun Kaktus Centong (Opuntia Cochenillifera) Sebagai Pengawet Alami pada Buah-buahan. Retrieved from: http://www/thoharianwarphd.com/2015/03/pemanfaatanekstrak-daun-kaktus-centong.html

CAB International. Invasive Species Compendium: Opuntia Engelmannii. Tersedia di: www.cabi.org