[4] As a result of its tendency to grow in dry, arid, and rocky areas this cactus has evolved to be very resilient, not even suffering from the effects of agriculture, i.e. cattle grazing, on lower altitude subpopulations.

[4] Found mostly in, and thought to originate from, the northwestern region of Argentina, from the Mendoza province up to Juy Juy in the North and the Buenos Aires province to the West, Opuntia sulphurea can also be seen in parts of Paraguay and Bolivia, Chile, Western Brazil as well as a specific population that is notably naturalised "in localised areas of southern Queensland (Australia)".

[4] In a paper from Kiesling and Ferrari about species of cacti from Argentina they describe variants in the color of the fruit of Opuntia sulphurea based on their geographic location within its range.

Additionally, Opuntia sulphurea prefers nitrogen-rich soils and as a result, has a tendency to grow efficiently in areas that have been subject to overgrazing.

[6] Given its ability to survive in a multitude of environments as well as thrive off in areas where other plants might struggle O. sulphurea is in no danger of extinction and according to the IUCN Red List their population is in the category of least concern, they can act as an invasive species.

It is composed of many "elliptic to ovoid pads measuring 15 to 20 cm long and 10 to 13cm wide" that are each singular organisms, remaining in a tight group.

[4][3] The sulphurea also grows a bright yellow flower that typically reaches about 4 cm in length and is described as having exterior, intermediate and interior tepals as well as fruits that vary between a yellowish and reddish color.

[2] Retrieved [11, 01, 2020], from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System on-line database, https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=907442#null Carreira, V. P., Padró, J., Koch, N. M., Fontanarrosa, P., Alonso, I., & Soto, I. M. (2014).