Opuntia fragilis
Brittle pricklypear
Family CactaceaeAlso called Little prickly pear, Brittle cactus
About
Brittle prickly pear is a small, low cactus of western North America whose swollen joints snap off easily. It grows farther north than any other cactus.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Listed as non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses, but spines and glochids cause injury. General guidance for the genus
- People
- Barbed glochids lodge in skin and irritate; wear gloves when handling. General guidance for the genus
- Light
- Full sun (6+ hours of direct sun); high light indoors. General guidance for the genus
- Water
- Very drought tolerant; avoid soggy soil, which causes root rot. General guidance for the genus
- Soil
- Well-drained sandy or loamy soil; cactus mix in pots. General guidance for the genus
- Propagation
- A single detached pad roots readily to form a new plant. General guidance for the genus
- Mature size
- Prostrate, up to 20 cm tall.
“General guidance for the genus” marks advice sourced for the genus as a whole rather than this species.
Field notes
Morphology
A prostrate plant up to 20 cm tall. Joints are plump, oval to almost round, 3–5 cm long and bright green, detaching easily. Each areole has whitish wool, bristles and 2–7 weak, dark brown spines up to 6.5 cm. Flowers are greenish yellow, 2.5–3.2 cm wide; the small fruits are mostly sterile.
Distribution & habitat
Every US state west of North Dakota and Texas plus several Midwestern states, and Canada from Ontario to the Pacific. Often confined to one area of a state; reaches about 56°N in the Peace River watershed.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- United States, Canada
- IUCN status
- Least concern
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- easy
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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