Opuntia anacantha is a species belonging to the family Cactaceae, native to northern Argentina and Bolivia.

Shrubby cactus of about 60 cm high and 2.5 wide, normally prostrate, sometimes climbs due to its adventitious roots.

Opuntia anacantha was described by Carlos Luis Spegazzini and published in Bulletin du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle 1904.

[3] As of October 2022[update], Plants of the World Online regarded it as a synonym of Opuntia elata var.

[4] Opuntia : generic name that comes from the Greek used by Pliny the Elder for a plant that grew around the city of Opus in Greece.