prickly pear cactus in the desert Opuntia Desert Ace – Planet Desert

prickly pear cactus in the desert Opuntia Desert Ace – Planet DesertOpuntia is a very large genus of cacti, varying in size from 2 inches tall (5 cm) miniature plants to 100 feet tall (30 m) trees. They are native from Canada, to Chile and Argentina. The genus has been split several times, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus yet on the best way to do that. The name Opuntia comes from the name of a Greek city. All Opuntias not only have normal spines, but they also have thin barbed spines barely visible, named

Opuntia is a very large genus of cacti, varying in size from 2 inches tall (5 cm) miniature plants to 100 feet tall (30 m) trees. They are native from Canada, to Chile and Argentina. The genus has been split several times, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus yet on the best way to do that. The name Opuntia comes from the name of a Greek city.

All Opuntias not only have normal spines, but they also have thin barbed spines barely visible, named glochids. These can get stuck in your skin and be very irritating. In some species, they are particularly light and can become airborne when the Opuntia is moved. Wetting the plant before handling it might be a good prevention.

Opuntias often have large, colorful flowers. The fruit is also large and generally edible.

Cold hardiness zone: USDA 4-9
Light needs: full sun
Water needs: little to no water
Mature size: 3-6' high and wide
Selected for: cactus with hot pink flowers followed by rounded red fruits

Some of the information in this description has been found at desert-tropicals.com, llifle.com and cactus-art.biz