Opuntia rufida
Blind pricklypear
Family CactaceaeAlso called Cow blinder
About
Blind prickly pear is a spineless prickly pear of Big Bend Texas and northern Mexico, armed instead with masses of red-brown glochids. Wind-blown glochids can blind animals, giving the plant its name.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Listed as non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses, but glochids are dangerous to animals, especially if carried by wind into eyes. General guidance for the genus
- People
- Glochids dislodge easily and are dangerous if blown into eyes or skin; wear gloves and eye protection.
- Light
- Full sun; highly tolerant of desert heat.
- Water
- Very drought tolerant; avoid soggy soil, which causes root rot. General guidance for the genus
- Temperature
- Highly tolerant of desert heat.
- 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
- 0.9–1.5 m tall and slightly wider.
“General guidance for the genus” marks advice sourced for the genus as a whole rather than this species.
Field notes
Morphology
A multi-branched cactus 0.9–1.5 m tall and slightly wider, usually with a short trunk. Thick, felted pads are round to elliptical, with spineless areoles bearing showy red-brown glochids. Brilliant yellow flowers 8–10 cm across turn orange and red; oblong fruits are red to purple, 5–8 cm long.
Distribution & habitat
The Big Bend area of southwestern Texas and the Chihuahuan Desert of northern Mexico, on rocky slopes.
Cultivation notes
A striking desert-garden plant that needs full sun and tolerates intense heat. Its glochids dislodge easily when the plant is bumped or shaken and can be carried by the wind. The cultivar 'Minima Monstrose' is commonly sold.
History & etymology
Closely related to O. microdasys and sometimes treated as its subspecies.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- United States, Mexico
- IUCN status
- Least concern
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- easy
- Temperature
- Highly tolerant of desert heat.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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