Red-spined prickly pear
Opuntia polyacantha

Family: Cactaceae

What it is like

A cactus. It forms mats, It grows 30 cm high and spreads 1.2 m wide. The stem segments are rounded but flat. They are 10 cm long. They have clusters of 5-10 blue-green spines. These are 5 cm long. The flowers are yellow to yellow-green. The fruit are dry and rather spiny and 25 mm long.

There are about 250 Opuntia species.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows in dry, open prairie and sand hills. It suits hardiness zones 3-10.

Countries/locations it is found in

Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Mexico, North America, Paraguay, USA

How it is used for food

The stem segments have the spines burnt off in a hot flame and are then cooked and the inner section eaten. The dried pulp of the fruits is used to thicken soups and stews. The fruit are dried and stored for winter use. The fruit are eaten raw.

Edible parts

Fruit, seeds, stem

How it is grown

It is slow growing.

Its other names

Local names

Plains prickly pear, Starvation prickly pear, Cliff prickly pear, Grizzly bear prickly pear, Hairy prickly pear, Hedgehog prickly pear, Juniper prickly pear, Nichol's prickly pear, Porcupine prickly pear

Synonyms

Opuntia media Haworth; Opuntia missouriensis A.P. de Candolle; Opuntia splendens Pfeiffer; Opuntia rutila Nuttal ex Torrey & A. Gray; Opuntia erinacea Engel. & J.M. Bigelow; Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea (Engel. & J.M. Bigelow) B.D. Parfitt; Opuntia hystricina Engel. & J.M. Bigelow; Opuntia polyacantha var. hystricina (Engel. & J.M. Bigelow) B.D. Parfitt; Opuntia missouriensis var. trichophora (Engel. & Bigelow) Britton & Rose; Opuntia polyacantha var. tricophora (Engel. & Bigelow) J.M. Coulter; Opuntia trichophora (Engel. & Bigelow) Britton & Rose; Opuntia arenaria Engelmann; Opuntia polyacantha var. arenaria (Engel.) B.D. Parfitt; Opuntia missouriensis var. rufispina (Engel. & Bigelow) L.D. Benson; Opuntia rhodantha K. Schumann; Opuntia ursina F.A.C. Weber; Opuntia xanthostemma K. Schumann; Opuntia schweriniana K. Schumann; Opuntia polyacantha var. schweriniana (K. Schumann) L.D. Backeberg; Opuntia ursus-horribilis Watson; Opuntia barbata K. Brandegee ex Purpus; Opuntia juniperina Britton & Rose Opuntia polyacantha var. juniperina (Britton & Rose) L.D. Benson; Opuntia nicholii L.D. Benson; Opuntia polyacantha var. nicholii (L.D. Benson) B.D. Parfitt; Opuntia heacockae Arp;