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Opuntia aciculata
Also called Chenille Prickly Pear, Cowboy's Red Whiskers
Opuntia aciculata is a small, low-growing prickly pear cactus from the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and northern Mexico, grown for its tufted, fringed pads and bright red-orange flowers. Give it full sun, very sharp drainage, and sparse watering.
Opuntia aciculata, also called Chenille pricklypear, old man's whiskers, and cowboy's red whiskers, is a perennial dicot and an attractive ornamental cactus native to Texas. It belongs to the genus Opuntia (prickly pear cacti). It is also widespread in Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas (northern Mexico).
It was reported from Nuevo León, Mexico, according to D. Weniger in 1970. The specific name aciculata derives from many sources: the Latin word acicula which means "a small pin for a headdress". Chenille prickly pear, one of its vernacular names, comes for the fringe of spines around the edge of the pad. The specific name also means "covered with small pins".
It is native to Chihuahuan Desert (Texas) and northern Mexico.
The fruits are edible and the soft pads (nopales) can be cooked as vegetables. After burning of spines, the pads can serve as a good feed for cattle.
Cochineal nopal cactus · Erect pricklypear · Cactus apple · Barbary fig · Opuntia huajuapensis · Devil's-tongue · Opuntia lagunae · Coastal pricklypear · Purple pricklypear · Twistspine pricklypear · Opuntia matudae · Angel's-wings
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Opuntia aciculata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
