Plains prickly pear

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Plains prickly pear flower

Plains prickly pear

Plains prickly pear

Plains prickly pear spines

Plains prickly pear

Plains prickly pear

Plains prickly pear

Plains prickly pear

Plains prickly pear

Plains prickly pear

Plains prickly pear

Plains prickly pear flower

Plains prickly pear

Plains prickly pear flower

Plains prickly pear

Plains prickly pear flower

Plains prickly pear flowers

Plains prickly pear flower

Morphology

Stem

Prostrate or erect, circular to egg-shaped, 2-5 inches long, 2-4 inches wide, flattened, bluish green, waxy.

Leaves

Leaves absent. Pad-like stem segments with 1-6 spines per areole; spines 2 inches long or more, straight or sometimes twisted, not barbed, often only on uppermost areoles; bristles abundant, tiny, yellowish brown, barbed, at bases of spines.

Inflorescence

1 to several flowers, sessile on margins of pads.

Flower

Showy, broadly funnel-shaped, 2-3 inches wide, yellow to copper, centers sometimes reddish; stamens numerous, filaments yellow or reddish.

Fruit

Berries, fleshy, globe- to egg-shaped, 1-3 inches long, red or purple, not spiny; seeds numerous, disk-shaped, flattened, tan to white.

Ecology

Habitat

Dry rocky prairies, hillsides, and overgrazed pastures.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Forage Value

Prickly pear has been used in the past as an emergency livestock feed after the spines have been burned off.

Uses

In times of food shortage, Native Americans ate the raw or stewed fruit. Wildlife such as deer, jackrabbits, and turtles eat the fruits and help spread the seeds.

Additional Notes