Opuntia Mill.

Prickly pear cactus, prickly pear, cholla, pricklypear

Some members of Opuntia

	Opuntia engelmannii var. cuija	Opuntia laevis	Opuntia macrocentra
Common Name	tuna	spineless prickly pear	long-spined prickly pear
Plant	Up to 8′ (2.4 m) high, usually lower; in spreading clumps up to 10′ (3 m) wide. Thick yellowish- or bluish-green pads up to 10″ (25 cm) long, less than 1" thick.	This shubby, ground-hugging perennial forms clumps 1½–8′ (50–250 cm) wide and 12–35″ (30–90 cm) tall. Segments are 4–10 ⨉ 3–8″ (10–25 ⨉ 7.5–20 cm), with narrow, ovate bluish-green pads. These are often spineless, or with spines on the upper part of the joint. If spines are present, they are about ½″ (1.3 cm) long, with 1-3 per areole.	Up to 4′ (1.2 m) tall. Pads are purple or purple-tinged green.
Leaves	Spines are 1–1½″ (2.5–3.8 cm) long, in groups of 2-6 (usually 3-5), groups about 1½″ (3.8 cm) apart. No spines or very short spines, spines are light yellow.		Sometimes has no spines, or groups of up to 15. Spines are up to 7″ (17 cm) long! Longer spines are reddish brown to black (or rarely, yellow to red), turning whitish with age.
Flowers	Yellow to red. About 2–3″ (5–7.6 cm) across.	Yellow, sometimes with reddish centers.	1 to 8 yellow flowers with red centers, along the tops of pad. Flowers are 2–3″ (5–7.6 cm) in diameter. By Jodelet/Lépinay.
Fruit	Barrel-shaped, initially yellow-green, ripening to purple, up to 3″ (7.6 cm) long.	Fleshy and smooth, purple or reddish purple, roughly cylindrical, with a narrow base. They are 1–2 ⨉ ¾–1½″ (3–6 ⨉ 2–4 cm).	Reddish fruit is oboviod, ovoid, or ellipsoid, 1–1½″ long ⨉ ½–1″ in diameter (3–4.3 ⨉ 1.5–3 cm), and deeply concave. The rind is purple and the juice and pulp are pale-purple to clear. Seeds are flattened, tan, ~⅛″ in diameter ⨉ 1/32–1/16″ thick (3.4–4.5 ⨉ 1.5–1.9 mm), with a broad notch on one side.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Desert scrub, grasslands, oak/pine/juniper woodlands	Sandy and rocky soils, pinyon juniper woodlands, grasslands, and ponderosa pine forests, from 1000–7000′ (304–2133 m).	Desert uplands, grasslands, rocky and sandy areas

	Opuntia phaeacantha	Opuntia santa-rita
Common Name	desert prickly pear	Santa Rita purple prickly pear
Plant	Desert prickly pear forms dense spreading colonies and shrubs. Spine clusters of 1-4 spines are brown, reddish brown, or gray, up to 1½″ (3.8 cm) long. Pads and fruit also have tiny hairlike spines that detach easily and are difficult to remove from skin.	Up to 7′ (2.1 m) high, may have a short trunk.
Leaves		Pads are 4–8″ (10–20 cm), tinged with purple; turning entirely purple when very dry. Spineless, or pink or reddish spines less than 1½″ (3.8 cm) long. There are also tiny reddish-brown, loosely attached spines called glochids, which are irritating and difficult to remove.
Flowers	Bright yellow with pale red centers, peach-colored, pinkish, or reddish. Up to 3″ (7.6 cm) around.	Lemon yellow, becoming more orange as they age. Flowers occur on tops of pads. Photo by Stan Shebs.
Fruit	Red or purple, up to 2″ (5 cm) long, with pink seedy flesh.	Barrel-shaped. Smooth. About 1″ (2.5 cm) x 1½″ (3.8 cm).
Range/ Zones	USDA Zones: 7-10	USDA Zones: 4-11
Habitats	Many desert habitats.	Elevations of 2000–4000′ (609–1219 m).

Opuntia description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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