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