''Opuntia polyacantha'' is a common species of

cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

known by the common names plains pricklypear,Johnson, K. A. 2000
''Opuntia polyacantha''.
In: Fire Effects Information System, nline U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Retrieved May 11, 2011.''Opuntia polyacantha''.
USDA Plants Profile. Retrieved May 11, 2011. starvation pricklypear,''Opuntia polyacantha''.
Flora of North America. Retrieved May 11, 2011. hairspine cactus, and panhandle pricklypear.

Description

''Opuntia polyacantha'' grows up to tall. It forms low mats of pads which may be wide. Its succulent green pads are oval or circular and reach wide. Its

areole In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cactus, cacti out of which grow clusters of Thorns, spines, and prickles, spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cactus, cacti, and identify them as a family distinct fr ...

s are tipped with woolly brown fibers and

glochid Glochids or glochidia (: "glochidium") are hair-like spines or short prickles, generally barbed, found on the areoles of Cactus, cacti in the sub-family ''Opuntioideae''. Cactus glochids easily detach from the plant and lodge in the skin, causi ...

s. Many of the areoles have spines which are quite variable in size and shape. They may be in length, stout or thin, straight or curling, and any of a variety of colors. Flowers grow from spine-covered stem segments which are shaped like semi-flattened pears. The flowers are long and may be yellow, magenta, or red in color (tending to turn pink or orange with age). The fruit is cylindrical, brownish, dry and spiny. The cactus reproduces by seed, by

layering Layering can refer to: * Layering (horticulture), a means of vegetative propagation * Layering (finance), a strategy in high frequency trading * Layering (linguistics), a principle by which grammaticalisation can be detected * Surface layering ...

, and by re-sprouting from detached segments. In its natural range it survives throughout an immense range of temperatures, ranging from in the

Yukon Territory Yukon () is a territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s westernmost territory and the smallest ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, to well above in places like Chihuahua,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. There are many expressions of ''O. polyacantha'' and variation is common. Multiple varieties have been proposed. Some are accepted by modern authorities and some require further study.

Distribution and Habitat

It is native to North America, where it is widespread in

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

, the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

, the central and

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

, and Chihuahua in northern Mexico. In 2018, a disjunct population was discovered in the

Thousand Islands The Thousand Islands (, ) constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream fr ...

region of

Ontario, Canada Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

.
This cactus grows in a wide variety of habitat types, including

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus ''Artemisia (plant), Artemisia''. The best-known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrush is native to the western half of North Amer ...

Ponderosa pine forest Ponderosa pine forest is a plant association and plant community dominated by ponderosa pine and found in western North America. It is found from the British Columbia to Durango, Durango, Durango, Mexico. In the south and east, ponderosa pine for ...

, prairie, savanna, shrublands, shrubsteppe,

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

, pinyon-juniper woodland, and scrub. Individual plants tend to thrive in sandy soil. A new plant can grow from a displaced stem segment.

Uses

Native Americans used it as a

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...

, with different parts treating various symptoms. This pricklypear provides food for many types of animals. It provides over half the winter food for the

black-tailed prairie dog The black-tailed prairie dog (''Cynomys ludovicianus'') is a rodent of the family Sciuridae (the squirrels) found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States–Canada border to the United States–Mexico border. Unlike some ...

in one area.

Pronghorn The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American ante ...

antelope eat it, especially after the spines are burned off in

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

s. Ranchers intentionally burn stands of the plant to make it palatable for livestock when little other food is available. It will also grow in waste areas where good forage will not take hold. In fact, an abundance of the cactus indicates land that is poor in quality. Several insects attack the cactus, including the cactus moth ''

Melitara dentata ''Melitara dentata'', the North American cactus moth, is a moth of the family Pyralidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1876. It is native to western North America, where it is widespread from Alberta to southern ...

'', the blue cactus borer ''

Olycella subumbrella ''Melitara subumbrella'' is a species of snout moth in the genus '' Melitara''. It was described by Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. in 1925. It is widespread in western North America, from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan to southern Arizona, central Te ...

'', and the cactus bug ''

Chelinidea vittiger ''Chelinidea vittiger'', known generally as cactus coreid, is a species of leaf-footed bug in the family Coreidae Coreidae is a large family (biology), family of predominantly sap-sucking insects in the Hemipteran suborder Heteroptera. The ...

''. ''O. polyacantha'' provided the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

with opportunity for admiration and more often complaint about the plant. With the skin and seeds removed, the fruit can be eaten raw or made into candy.

References

External links

Jepson eFlora (TJM2): ''Opuntia polyacantha''Species account and photographs from Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network (NPIN)''Opuntia polyacantha'' — UC CalPhotos Gallery

Opuntia polyacantha photo gallery at Opuntia Web
{{Authority control polyacantha Cacti of Canada Cacti of Mexico Cacti of the United States Flora of the Great Plains (North America) Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of California Flora of the California desert regions Flora of Chihuahua (state) Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of Texas Natural history of the Mojave Desert Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Plant dyes