Opuntia polyacantha
Plains pricklypear
Family CactaceaeAlso called Starvation pricklypear, Hairspine cactus, Panhandle pricklypear
About
Plains prickly pear is a common, mat-forming cactus of western North America, from Canada to northern Mexico. It is an important food for wildlife on dry rangeland.
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
- Sandy, well-drained soil.
- Propagation
- A single detached pad roots readily to form a new plant. General guidance for the genus
- Mature size
- 10–30 cm tall, mats 2–3 m wide.
“General guidance for the genus” marks advice sourced for the genus as a whole rather than this species.
Field notes
Morphology
Low mats 10–30 cm tall and 2–3 m wide of oval to round green pads up to 27 × 18 cm. Areoles bear woolly brown fibres, glochids and highly variable spines 0.4–18.5 cm long. Flowers 2.5–4 cm long are yellow, magenta or red; fruit is dry, brownish and spiny.
Distribution & habitat
Western Canada, the Great Plains, the central and western United States and Chihuahua in Mexico, with a disjunct population found in Ontario's Thousand Islands in 2018. Occurs in sagebrush, prairie, pine forest, chaparral, pinyon–juniper woodland and scrub, favouring sandy soil.
Ecology
Supplies over half the winter food of black-tailed prairie dogs in one area and is eaten by pronghorn. Attacked by the cactus moth Melitara dentata, the blue cactus borer and the cactus bug Chelinidea vittiger. Abundant stands indicate poor land.
History & etymology
Native Americans used various parts medicinally. Ranchers burn stands so livestock can eat the pads when forage is scarce.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- Canada, United States, Mexico
- IUCN status
- Least concern
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- easy
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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