Red-flowered pricklypear
| Botanical Name | Opuntia polyacantha, var. hystricina |
| Common Name | Red-flowered pricklypear |
| Family | Cactaceae - Cactus |
| Description | This is a low-growing perennial. It has oval to nearly round pads and very long whitish spines. The pads become wrinkled in winter. The fruit are stout and densely spiny. It grows in clumps. |
| Mature Size | About 12". |
| Bloom | Late spring and early summer. It usually has red flowers but sometimes they are yellow. It is the only pricklypear that has red flowers. |
| Interesting Facts | No research has found a poisonous cactus. |
| Traditional and Medicinal Uses | It has been used as emergency cattle feed after the spines have been burned off. |
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Photo for SFBG by Janice Tucker
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Photo for SFBG by Janice Tucker
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