Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses - Plains prickly pear

PLAINS PRICKLY PEAR

File Size: 117 KB

Opuntia macrorhiza Engelm.

Cheyenne County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: Up to 6 inches

Family: Cactaceae - Cactus Family

Flowering Period: May, June

Stems:

Prostrate or erect, circular to egg-shaped, 2-5 inches long, 2-4 inches wide, flattened, bluish green, waxy.

Leaves:

Leaves absent. Pad-like stem segments with 1-6 spines per areole; spines 2 inches long or more, straight or sometimes twisted, not barbed, often only on uppermost areoles; bristles abundant, tiny, yellowish brown, barbed, at bases of spines.

Inflorescences:

1 to several flowers, sessile on margins of pads.

Flowers:

Showy, broadly funnel-shaped, 2-3 inches wide, yellow to copper, centers sometimes reddish; stamens numerous, filaments yellow or reddish.

Fruits:

Berries, fleshy, globe- to egg-shaped, 1-3 inches long, red or purple, not spiny; seeds numerous, disk-shaped, flattened, tan to white.

Habitat:

Dry rocky prairies, hillsides, and overgrazed pastures.

Distribution:

Throughout Kansas.

Forage Value:

Prickly pear has been used in the past as an emergency livestock feed after the spines have been burned off.

Uses:

In times of food shortage, Native Americans ate the raw or stewed fruit. Wildlife such as deer, jackrabbits, and turtles eat the fruits and help spread the seeds.

Comments:

Prickly pear endures drought well due to its succulent pads and extensive root system. It increases during dry periods and decreases when conditions favor the growth of grasses.

Plains prickly pear flower