Opuntia humifusa Eastern Prickly Pear, Devil's Tounge
General
Prickly pear is a native cactus species to the Eastern and Central United States. It is a great ground cover for dry areas with coarse or rocky soils. It produces showy, yellow flowers and pink, edible fruits. It is tolerant of drought and freezing temperatures, but must be planted in full sun and well-drained soils.
Plant Description
Evergreen cactus with many spines evenly spaced on the wide, flat pads. The pads are succulent, rounded, and can be 2-7'' long and 1-5'' wide. Showy yellow or yellow and orange flowers. Thick, edible red fruit grows from the edges of the outermost pads. Grows in clusters close to the ground and usually less than 1' tall.
Height (ft)
0.25-1.5'
Soil moisture
Dry
Soil types
Coarse or rocky mineral soils
Wetland indicator
UPL
Shade tolerance
Intolerant, Full Sun
Bloom color
Yellow
Bloom period
Late Spring to Early Summer
Drought tolerance
High
Salinity tolerance
Medium
Distribution
Eastern and Central United States. Upstate New York and Massachusetts to Florida, west to Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. This species is state-listed as a species of special concern in Connecticut, endangered in Massachusetts, vulnerable in New York, and rare in Pennsylvania.
Additional information
Brown, Lauren. Grasses: An Identification Guide. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York City, 1979. LINK
Fassett, Norman C. A Manual of Aquatic Plants, First Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1940. LINK
Garbisch, Edgar W., and McIninch, Suzanne M. Propagation of Wetland Plants: Herbaceous Plants, Shrubs and Trees. Environmental Concern, Inc. 2003. LINK
Harris, James G., and Harris, Melinda Woolf. Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary, Second Edition. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, Utah. 2011. LINK
Hitchcock, A.S., and Chase, Agnes. Manual of the Grasses of the United States, Second Edition, Volume I. Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1971. LINK
Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press) LINK
McKenny, Margaret and Peterson, Roger Tory. A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1968. LINK
Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Laurence Newcomb, Mexico. 1977. LINK
USDA, NRCS. 2021. PLANTS Database (https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/, 08/20/2021). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. LINK