(Opuntia dulcis, near Alamogordo, NM)

Introduction

Opuntia dulcis has been described as a variety of O. phaeacantha. O. dulcis is a larger plant, to 2 ft. Sometimes side branches arise from prostrate branches. Immature specimens of O. dulcis may overlap in size with O. phaeacantha, but O. phaeacantha is a prostrate plant. O. dulcis resembles O. engelmannii in some ways but does not become as erect or tall as the Engelmann prickly. The spines may be in the same arrangement as O. engelmannii, but O. dulcis spines are more slender.

The Details

An early account of O. dulcis describes the fruit as sweet. The inner tepals are more or less bright red at their bases, but the red may be pale. There are often 2-4 chalk-white, tan, or brown spines. The spines are more slender than those of O. engelmannii, but are not weak.

O. dulcis grows as far north as Albuquerque, NM and at least as high as 1500 m. Plans from from cold-winter areas are very cold hardy.

Additional Reading: Opuntia dulcis (Weedin and Powell)