Prickly Pear - Growing the Hardy Cactus Opuntia compressa - Eastern Prickly Pear
By Marie Iannotti, About.com Guide
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Prickly pear, Indian Fig, Mission Cactus
Scientific Name: Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.
The edible prickly pear and the infamous cholla are two distinct members of this diverse group of desert plants. They represent, respectively, the two halves of this genus -- plants with flat, broad joints, and those with cylindrical ones.
Aarons Beard Prickly Pear, Aaron´s-Beard Prickly-Pear, Aaronsbeard, Arborescent Prickly-Pear, Arborescent Pricklypear, Colorado, Duraznillo Blanco, Nopal, Nopal Blanco, Nopal Duraznillo, Prickly-Pear
Common Names in French: ...
An image of the prickly pear's flower is not available.
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I believe it a prickly pear cactus (or at least it looks like one). I keep it in a window that has a northern exposure (the only window I have in my office) but there is large overhang right above my window.
As an ornamental the prickly pear is an interesting specimen plant. Depending on the selection, it can grow from 2- to 8-feet tall. Hybrids are hardy statewide in Arkansas if they are given full sun and good drainage.
Prickly pear, Indian fig
Opuntia ficus-indica
Fruits and Vegetables, Cacti and Succulents ...
Prickly Pear Cacti (Opuntia species): Low mat-forming prickly pears are very easy to grow. Always wear heavy gloves when handling prickly pears.
Prickly Pear Cactus. . In the Cactaceae or cactus family. Common, native.
Pride of India (Melia azederach). From South Asia. Introduced. A majestic tree in the landscape. The bark, flowers and foliage are nice.
Prickly pear cactus are found in all of the deserts of the American Southwest, with different species having adapted to different locale and elevation ranges. Most require course, well-drained soil in dry, rocky flats or slopes.
Prickly Pear cactus (genus Opuntia)
Classification of Cacti:
Kingdom - Plantae (plants)
Phylum - Tracheophyta (vascular plants)
Division - Magnoliophyta = Anthophyta] (angioperms)
Class - Dicotyledonae = Magnoliopsida (dicots) ...
prickly pear, tree pear, velvet opuntia, velvet tree pear, velvety tree pear, woollyjoint prickly pear
Family
Cactaceae ...
Prickly pear cactus is a clump-forming and semi-prostrate plant. Flattened round-to-oval green pads 2-10 inches across have scattered needle-like spines and tufts of glochids (bristles).
Prickly pear cactus (pictured above) has flat, fleshy pads that grow on top of each other, resembling bunny ears. It is part of the largest cactus genus, Opuntia. Handle with caution -- its barbed spines are sharp!
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Prickly Pear
Opuntia macrorhiza
Opuntia delicata, Opuntia ballii, Opuntia tenuispina ...
The prickly pear cactus is a widely used and versatile cactus. It can be used in many different ways such as foods, crops, etc.. In many places the prickly pear is grown as a crop, but in others they are just grown in the wild.
Festive Prickly Pear Fruit
Introduce gardening friends and holiday guests to the prickly pear fruit, a native edible ornamental for gardens and wild landscapes.
Plants with Berries that Look Like Blackberries ...
prickly pear is easy to grow, rooting readily from pads stuck in the ground, or even just lying on the surface.
Light: Full sun
Moisture: Drought tolerant but doesn't like soggy conditions.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 5-10 ...
Opuntia humifusa : Prickly Pear Cactus - Whole Plant
Orontium aquaticum : Golden Club - Whole Plant
Paeonia 'Coral Charm' : Coral Charm Peony - Flowers ...
Cochineal prickly pear Opuntia monacantha Haw. (Category 1)
Common dodder Cuscuta campestris Yunck. (Category 1)
Common mulberry Morus alba L.
Many cover huge territories (brittle prickly pear, for example, ranges from Texas to near the Arctic Circle and from the Pacific Coast to Ontario) and exhibit considerable physical variability as they adapt to local conditions.
Various other adulterants are sometimes used, such as the inspissated juice of the prickly pear, extracts from tobacco, stramonium and hemp, pulp of the tamarind and bael fruit, mahwah flowers and gums of different kinds.
Another popular cactus is the prickly pear. The skin of the prickly pear is covered in spines called glochids. Many mistake the large flat pads as leaves when in fact the pads are just small branches.
The largest cactus genus is Opuntia, jointed-stemmed species recognizable by the fleshy stems made up of either cylindrical (in the cane cacti and the chollas) or flattened (in the prickly pears) joints called pads.
I guess we've all driven through the country side, and seen the mounds of prickly pear cactus adorning dilapidated mobile homes, so often used in those tastefully painted tractor tires.
Many people are surprised to learn that Connecticut has cacti, but the prickly pear is found in all eastern states except for Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
Opuntia polyacantha (Prickly Pear Cactus)
Cactaceae (Cactus Family)
Pads on this variety of Opuntia polyacantha are elongated and have spines up to three inches long.
Opuntia polyacantha (Prickly Pear Cactus)
Cactaceae (Cactus Family) ...
Opuntia polyacantha. Prickly Pear Cactus with a shield bug. Pony, Montana.
Opuntia bigelovii. Teddy Bear Cholla. Sonora Desert Museum. Tuscon, Arizona.
Opuntia bigelovii. Teddy Bear Cholla. Joshua Tree National Park, California.
aka Yellow bunny ears
pads are darker green than most other prickly pears
glochids are loosely attached, and may become airborne irritants
variety "Albaspina" has white glochids "Rufidula" glochids are more red, rusty colored ...
The tree cholla is a cactus closely related to the prickly pear (Opuntia) and is equally spiny.
Cylindropuntia imbricata (Image: Wolfgang Stuppy)
Species Information ...
Eastern Leatherwood
Eastern Prickly Pear
Elephant Ear Tree
English Mercury ...
Century Plant, Agave americana
Partridge-Breasted Aloe, Abie tariegata
Prickly Pear, Opuntia species
Crown Cactus, Rehutia species
Ball Cactus, Notocacms species
Coryphantha. Coryphantha crecta Mammalaria, MammiHand species ...
The fruit, often called prickly pear, differs in size according to variety and varies in color from yellow to orange, brick red to purple. The pulp is sweet, white to pink or red according to the plant.
The branches of the shrub may be used as roofing and to knock the spines off prickly pears. Larrea charcoal, which is greenish-blue in colour, is sometimes used as a dye for tattoos. The early settlers used it as a treatment for venereal disease.
on water-retaining plants, well adapted to arid soil or climate conditions. Included are decorative garden varieties such as the mexican fire plant and saguaro, as well as species with medicinal or culinary uses such as aloe and prickly pear.
 See also: Pear, Cactus, Opuntia, Prickly Pear Cactus, May
  
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