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Opuntia phaeacantha
Also called Brownspine Pricklypear, New Mexico Prickly-pear, Tulip Prickly-pear, Mojave Prickly Pear, Brown Spine Prickly Pear, Dense Spine Prickly Pear, Desert Prickly Pear
Opuntia phaeacantha is a species of prickly pear cactus, with several varieties and a tendency to hybridize, forming dense localized thickets of flattened green pads. It needs full sun, excellent drainage and very little water.
Opuntia phaeacantha is a species of prickly pear cactus known by the common names brown-spine prickly pear, tulip prickly pear, and desert prickly pear, which is found across the southwestern United States, lower Great Plains, and northern Mexico. The plant forms dense but localized thickets. Several varieties of this particular species occur, and it may hybridize with other prickly pears, making identification sometimes tricky.
The cactus can be prepared as food in a similar fashion to Opuntia humifusa.
Chenille pricklypear · Cochineal nopal cactus · Erect pricklypear · Cactus apple · Barbary fig · Opuntia huajuapensis · Devil's-tongue · Opuntia lagunae · Coastal pricklypear · Purple pricklypear · Twistspine pricklypear · Opuntia matudae
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Opuntia phaeacantha 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.
