Ep. 523 - Prickly Pear Cacti Are Wonderfully Complex

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Science & Medicine, Natural Sciences

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 27 April 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The odds of encountering a prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.) in your lifetime is high no matter where you live. That is how abundant, diverse, and charismatic these cacti truly are. For all of their intrigue, so much about these spiny succulents remains a mystery. Trying to understand their diversity is fraught with challenges, both physical and academic, but that hasn't dissuaded people like Dr. Lucas Majure. Join us for a fascinating dive into the world of prickly pear cacti diversity and evolution. This episode was produced in part by Elle, Steve, Cassie, Chuck, Aaron, Gillian, Abi, Rich, Shad, Maddie, Owen, Linda, Alana, Sigma, Max, Richard, Maia, Rens, David, Robert, Thomas, Valerie, Joan, Mohsin Kazmi Photography, Cathy, Simon, Nick, Paul, Charis, EJ, Laura, Sung, NOK, Stephen, Heidi, Kristin, Luke, Sea, Shannon, Thomas, Will, Jamie, Waverly, Brent, Tanner, Rick, Kazys, Dorothy, Katherine, Emily, Theo, Nichole, Paul, Karen, Randi, Caelan, Tom, Don, Susan, Corbin, Keena, Robin, Peter, Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Conversations like you're about to hear do not happen unless you support the show and a great way to support the podcast and look cool in the process is to pick up some of our merch.
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0:21.1	or navigate to the show notes for the episode you're listening to and click on the link in there.
0:25.6	Thanks in advance and on with the show. Hello everyone and welcome to the Indefensive Plants
0:31.1	podcast, the official podcast of Indefensiveplants.com. What's up? This is your host, Matt.
0:35.4	Welcome to the show. How is everyone doing this week?
0:38.2	I'm doing great because we are talking about some of the coolest spiny plant friends,
0:42.2	the opunchoid cacti. There's a good chance you've encountered at least one species. But in terms of
0:47.1	what is the species in this group, where they come from, why they're so diverse and why they're
0:51.3	so confusing, we need to talk to people like my guest, Dr. Lucas
0:54.4	Majore. He spends much of his research career trying to understand these plants in a multitude of
0:59.4	different ways, and as you're going to hear, there's a lot of different ways you can help
1:03.0	add different pieces to this puzzle. I don't want to steal any of us thunder. This is such a cool
1:07.5	conversation that gives you a lot of food for thought. So let's just jump right into it.
1:11.5	Without further ado, here's my conversation with Dr. Lucas Majure.
1:14.4	I hope you enjoy.
1:31.9	All right, Dr. Lucas Majore, welcome to the podcast.
1:34.8	I can't wait to talk to you about your research today.
1:37.3	But for those that aren't familiar with it, let's start off with the internet auction.
1:37.9	Tell everyone a little bit about who you are and what it is you do.
	...

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