Status: Native
Synonyms:
Opuntia camanchica Engelmann & Bigelow
Opuntia chihuahensis Rose
Opuntia cyclodes (Engelmann & Bigelow) Rose
Opuntia dulcis Engelmann
Opuntia gilvescens Griffiths
Opuntia gregoriana Griffiths
Opuntia phaeacantha Engelmann var. camanchica (Engelmann & Bigelow) L. Benson
Opuntia phaeacantha Engelmann var. major Engelmann
Opuntia phaeacantha Engelmann var. wootonii (Griffiths) L. Benson
Opuntia toumeyi Rose
Opuntia zuniensis Griffiths
Opuntia wootonii Griffiths
Opuntia phaeacantha is the most common prickly pear cactus in our region. It tends to
sprawl along the ground in long chains of joints (the "pads.") The flowers are yellow with an orange or red center. The joint (the "pad") surfaces and margins contain areoles, where the spines grow. The longer, thicker spines are persistant. The shorter, thinner spines, called "glochids," are deciduous (not sclerified at the base) and detach easily to become lodged in skin. They are not easily removed because of a "harpoon" appearance under magnification due to dozens of minute, backward pointing barbs. Each areole sports 0-5 of the longer spines, and a forest of the annoying glochids. The cross section of a joint shows a thickened "chlorenchyma," the dark green layer just under the surface. This layer is about 5 times as thick as in other types of plants (ones with lots of leaves) and is where the chlorophyll containing chloroplasts are most abundantly found. Opuntia phaeacantha is found from lower to middle elevations.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Opuntia phaeacantha, photo Russ Kleinman, Silver City, May 19, 2007
Opuntia phaeacantha, in bloom, photo Russ Kleinman, Burro Mtns., WD Ranch Road, May 30, 2007
Opuntia phaeacantha, growth habit, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, November 15, 2009
Opuntia phaeacantha, closeup of joints, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, November 15, 2009
Opuntia phaeacantha, field macro of areole with longer spines and glochids, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, November 15, 2009
Opuntia phaeacantha, 4x field macro of glochids showing retrorse barbs, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, November 15, 2009
Opuntia phaeacantha, joint, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Acklin Hill, December 6, 2009
Opuntia phaeacantha, closeup of cross section of joint, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Acklin Hill, December 6, 2009
Opuntia phaeacantha, macro of cross section of joint, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Acklin Hill, December 6, 2009
Back to the Index