Desert Prickly Pear Opuntia phaeacantha
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- O. phaeacantha var. major
- Opuntia angustata
- Opuntia superbospina
- Opuntia woodsii
- Phonetic Spelling
- oh-POON-tee-ah fay-ah-KAN-thah
- Description
-
Tulip prickly pear is a member of the cactus family (Cactaceae) and is native to the Central and Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. It forms dense thickets and is found in abandoned pastures or old fields. The thickets can measure up to 8 feet tall and 8 feet wide. It is an erect and sprawling shrub. The specific epithet, phaeacantha, means 'dark thorns.' It originated from the Greek words, phaios, meaning ''dark or dusky" and akantha, meaning "thorn." This plant hybridizes easily with other prickly pears leading to confusion in naming the plants found in horticulture.
The tulip prickly pear requires full sun and well-drained, fasting drying, sandy, or rocky soils. It requires minimal watering and low humidity. It is also heat, poor soils, and drought tolerant. This plant is intolerant to overwatering or soggy soils. It can be propagated by stem cuttings. It is slow growing and multiplies when the modified stems, called pads, drop off and root. This is the easiest way to propagate this plant. Just dry the pad for a few days then lay it down so the cut portion is in contact with the soil.
The tulip prickly pear is erect and sprawling and has long chains of flat oval-shaped pads that are in lines of three that appear to be standing on edge. The young pads are bluish-green and then become grayish-green to dark green, and are reddish when under stress. Each stem pad is glabrous, obovate, and may measure up to 8 inches wide and 12 inches long. There may be one spine, or 2 to 4 spines clustered together. The central spines are 1 to 3 inches long, pointing downward, and whitish to tan to brown. The radial spines are shorter and are yellowish. The glochids are yellowish to yellow-brown and have dense tufts. The flowers are yellow with a red base, up to 2 inches long and 3 inches wide, and bloom in April to May. They are followed by fleshy reddish-purple fruits during the summer.
The pads function as a moisture reservoir that can be accessed during drought. When they are full, they are thick and greenish-gray. However, during a period of drought they slowly shrink, become wrinkled and turn a dull gray/brown color. The next rain will quickly repair the damage. Because they could be a source of moisture for any wandering animal, the plant has devised a means to protect this valuable resource: spines and bristles (glochids). The glochids on the stem pads are what you have to look out for. They are tiny and barbed and can puncture the skin leading to significant skin irritation. Always wear leather gloves when you are dealing with this or any other cacti.
This plant is attractive to pollinators and small mammals. Consider using the tulip prickly pear in a rock garden or containers on your patio.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Monitor for scale and mealybugs. Overwatering can cause stem and root rot.
VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Houseplants, Succulents, and Cacti," a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Juniper Level Botanic Garden: Parking Lot Berms
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Mesa Sky'
blue pads, golden yellow flowers with red centers, and red fruits, up to 1 foot tall and 4 feet wide - 'Plum'
large pads with purple cast in cool temperatures, peachy plum colored flowers, long red spines, red fruits - 'Tahiti Sunrise'
Up to 1 to 2 feet tall, large padded cactus, white spines, large yellow to orange flowers
- 'Mesa Sky'
- 'Mesa Sky', 'Plum', 'Tahiti Sunrise'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Mesa Sky'
blue pads, golden yellow flowers with red centers, and red fruits, up to 1 foot tall and 4 feet wide - 'Plum'
large pads with purple cast in cool temperatures, peachy plum colored flowers, long red spines, red fruits - 'Tahiti Sunrise'
Up to 1 to 2 feet tall, large padded cactus, white spines, large yellow to orange flowers
- 'Mesa Sky'
- 'Mesa Sky', 'Plum', 'Tahiti Sunrise'
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Opuntia
- Species:
- phaeacantha
- Family:
- Cactaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Native Peoples use just about every part of this plant in one way or another. The fruit is eaten fresh, dried, cooked, as jellies, jams and candies, as juice or wine. The spines are used to create tattoo designs, as needles, to make holes for earrings, to get out splinters. The pads are roasted, boiled, fried, pulped and made into cakes, and dried. Strips of pads are peeled, parboiled, then boiled to make chewing gum. Sometimes the strips are boiled in sugar water, dried and eaten as candy. They can also be boiled in the sugar water until they have dissolved and formed a syrup which is eaten as jelly. Some people heat the pads and apply to the breasts to encourage the flow of milk.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Central and Southwest United States and Northern Mexico
- Distribution:
- Native: Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, and United States--AZ, CA, CO, KS, NV, NM, OK, TX, and UT. Introduced: Austria, Canary Island, Czechoslovakia, Italy, North Caucasus, Spain, and Transcaucasus
- Wildlife Value:
- Flowers visited by yellowjackets, green skipper butterflies and sunflower bees. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers. Small mammals are attracted to the fruits.
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Attracts Pollinators
- Wildlife Food Source
- Edibility:
- Ripe fruit edible raw or in jelly. Pads can be eaten raw or cooked and have a mucilaginous texture. Remove spines and glochids from pads and fruit before eating.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
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-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Perennial
- Shrub
- Succulent
- Habit/Form:
- Creeping
- Dense
- Mounding
- Spreading
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Coarse
- Appendage:
- Spines
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Occasionally Dry
- Very Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 3 feet-6 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Red/Burgundy
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Berry
- Fruit Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- The fruit is red to purple in color with a greenish juicy flesh. They are edible and ripen during the summer. The seeds can be ground into flour.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Solitary
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Shape:
- Cup
- Funnel
- Flower Petals:
- 7 - 20 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- 1-3 inches
- Flower Description:
- The flowers are showy, up to three inches wide, bright yellow with a red base and are carried at the margin of the pads. The flowers appear from April to May.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Surface:
- Smooth (glabrous)
- Stem Description:
- What appear to be leaves are actually modified flattened stem segments or cladodes. The young pads are bluish-green and then become grayish-green to dark green, and are reddish under stress. Each stem pad is glabrous, obovate, and may measure up to 8 inches wide and 12 inches long. There may be one spine or 2 to 4 spines clustered together. The central spines are 1 to 3 inches long, pointing downward, and whitish to tan to brown. The radial spines are shorter and yellowish. Glochids are the minute bristle-like, barbed hairs that appear in clusters on the stems.The glochids are yellowish to yellow-brown and have dense tufts.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Coastal
- Container
- Naturalized Area
- Rock Wall
- Slope/Bank
- Landscape Theme:
- Drought Tolerant Garden
- Edible Garden
- Rock Garden
- Design Feature:
- Barrier
- Foundation Planting
- Small groups
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Butterflies
- Hummingbirds
- Small Mammals
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Drought
- Dry Soil
- Heat
- Poor Soil
- Problems:
- Contact Dermatitis
- Spines/Thorns
