EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 01 - 2010 Num. article: 2010/020

Cactaceae in Europe


The cactus family (Cactaceae) is mainly restricted to the Americas and comprises more than 1800 species. Diversity centres are the Andean region, Central Mexico, and Brazil, where cacti colonise a wide range of dry habitats, although several species occur up to the cool-temperate regions of Patagonia and Alaska.
In Europe, the cacti species which are now found outdoors in the Mediterranean region result from deliberate introductions, but in some cases these introductions have been followed by uncontrolled invasion events. Until the 19th century, the dominant pathway of entry for cacti in Europe was deliberate planting by farmers for economic reasons. For instance, Opontia ficus-indica was widely planted in the Mediterranean region for its edible fruits or for animal forage. In the last decades, deliberate planting in the wild by cacti enthusiasts for ornamental reasons has become the dominant pathway. Once planted, cacti produce seeds that are eaten and dispersed by birds and small mammals, and even by lizards and wild boars. Cacti invasions cause problems for nature conservation, especially when habitats such as rock vegetation, open dry grassland, and Garrigue are invaded. Most climate change scenari for the Mediterranean region predict a considerable reduction in precipitation and an increase of up to 5°C of the average annual temperature by 2100. As cacti are drought resistant and tolerant to high temperatures, it can be expected that climate change will enhance the invasion success of cacti in Europe.

A list of cacti species recorded in Europe has been compiled from different sources (checklists, databases, floras, atlases) for North, West, Central and South Europe. This list contains in total 26 species. All of them are confined to dry, open habitats on acid siliceous bedrocks, and mainly occur in the Mediterranean biogeographic region. By far, the most represented genus is Opuntia with 20 species. The most widespread species is Opuntia humifusa (6 countries), followed by O. ficus-indica and O. maxima (5 countries). Most species are rare and only locally established (28 invasion events) or casual (13 invasion events), whereas 17 invasion events have led to wider invasions. The number of invasion events over a 50-year period increased from three (1801-1851) to nine (1951-2000).
The table below presents the 26 cactus species which have been recorded in Europe with their situation in each country:

Species of Cactaceae
Casual
Locally established
Widely established
Austrocylindropuntia cylindrica

IT

Cereus peruvianus
ES
FR

Cereus triangularis

ES

Cylindropuntia imbricata
ES


Cylindropuntia spinosior

ES

Hylocereus undatus

ES

Opuntia ammophila

ES

Opuntia bernichiana

ES

Opuntia caespitosa

FR

Opuntia crassa
FR


Opuntia dejecta

IT

Opuntia dillenii

IT, PT
ES
Opuntia engelmannii

ES

Opuntia ficus-indica


ES, FR, HR, IT, PT
Opuntia huajuapensis
ES


Opuntia humifusa

HR, DE, ES
CH, FR, IT
Opuntia imbricata
CH, FR
ES

Opuntia maxima

IT
ES, FR, HR, PT
Opuntia microdasys
FR, PT
ES

Opuntia monacantha
CZ, DE, ES

FR
Opuntia phaeacantha

AT, ES
IT
Opuntia robusta

IT

Opuntia rosea

ES

Opuntia stricta
PT
ES, FR, IT

Opuntia subulata
PT
ES, FR
IT
Opuntia tuna

FR, IT
ES

Sources

Essl F, Kobler J (2008) Spiny invaders – Patterns and determinants of cacti invasion in Europe. Flora 204, 485-494.