Species Detail Cacti

Plant - spring		Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants Opuntia phaeacantha - brown-spine prickly pear Synonyms: Opuntia superbospina, Opuntia mojavensis, Opuntia arizonica, Opuntia dulcis, Opuntia canada Other Common Names: tulip prickly pear Plant Form: Cacti Family: Cactaceae
Plant - spring


Home	Plant Communities	Plant List	Search Forbs and Subshrubs	Search Grasses	Search Woody Plants	Additional Resources	About this Website

Click on Any Image for a Larger View
Spines Willow Dells Sue Smith	Flower Willow Dells Sue Smith	Flower Willow Dells Sue Smith	Flowers Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)	Fruit Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)

Plant Description

Origin: Native
General Desc: Forms dense thickets. Can be an erect or wide spreading and trailing cactus to 15 feet in diameter. Can form low patches of flat joints.
Identification notes: Sprawling, decumbent growth form; pads turn reddish or purplish when stressed; glochids dense at each areole; usually downward-pointing brown spines; yellow flower petals with reddish-orange bases; fleshy fruits with skin the color of red wine.
Height: 5 feet Width: 15 feet

Habitat

Habitat Description: Sandy or rocky soils of flats, hills and valleys.
Plant Communities: Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 1500 - 7500 feet

Flowers

Color: Yellow, orange or reddish Flowering Period: Apr - Jun
Description: Varies from 1 to 3 inches long and up to 3 inches wide. Flowers are showy with yellow color and red bases. Found on edges of flat pads.

Stems

Stem Color: Green to bluish-green Number of Stems: Multiple Stem Shape: Pads Stems Segmented: Y Stem Surface: Smooth
Stem Description: Stems are round or oblong pads to 16 inches long and 9 inches wide in upright or sprawling chains. Can have 3 or more joints standing on edge. Joints are widest above their middle. May have reddish purple color in winter and turns grayish with age.

Areoles (structures unique to cacti, found on the stems, areas from which spines, flowers and fruits emerge)

Areole Description: Flower areoles are found along pad edges. Spine areoles can be single or 2 or 4 together.
Spine Color: Reddish-brown or brown and white Spines Hooked: N
Spine Description: Spines are to 3 inches long and can be either flattened, curved or straight and sometimes pointing downward.

Glochids: Y (Glochids are minute barbed hairs or bristles)
Glochid Description: Glochids are brown or yellowish and dense along edge of areoles.

Fruit

Fruit Color: Red to purplish
Fruit Notes: Fruit is narrow-based and cylindrical to 3 inches long and 1-1/2 inch in diameter. Seeds are tan and nearly circular.


	Arizona Cooperative Extension Yavapai County 840 Rodeo Dr #C Prescott, AZ 86305 (928) 445-6590	Version 8.0 http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailCactus.php Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022 Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson Legal Disclaimer