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Opuntia macrocentra
Also called Black-spined pricklypear, Purple Prickly-pear, Black Spine Prickly Pear, Martin's Blunt Spine Prickly Pear, Blunt Spine Prickly Pear, Long Spine Prickly Pear, Reddish Purple Prickly Pear
Purple pricklypear is a low, spreading desert cactus that forms clusters of flat pads and is grown for its purple stems and colorful flowers. It thrives in full sun and sharp drainage, and it is best kept dry in winter.
Opuntia macrocentra, the long-spined purplish prickly pear or purple pricklypear, is a cactus found in the lower Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. A member of the prickly pear genus, this species of Opuntia is most notable as one of a few cacti that produce a purple pigmentation in the stem. Other common names for this plant include black-spined pricklypear, long-spine prickly pear, purple pricklypear, and redeye prickly pear.
Opuntia macrocentra is an upright spreading shrub consisting of several joined segments called pads. This cactus produces large colorful yellow and red flowers and dark red edible fruits.
Native populations of Opuntia macrocentra are found in Arizona, New Mexico, Southwestern Texas, and Northwestern Mexico.
Because of its striking stem and flower color the Opuntia macrocentra cactus is cultivated as an ornamental plant for drought tolerant and native plant gardens, and as a potted plant.
Chenille pricklypear · Cochineal nopal cactus · Erect pricklypear · Cactus apple · Barbary fig · Opuntia huajuapensis · Devil's-tongue · Opuntia lagunae · Coastal pricklypear · Twistspine pricklypear · Opuntia matudae · Angel's-wings
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Opuntia macrocentra 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.
