Border Pricklypear

Border Pricklypear

Opuntia atrispina Griffths

Whole plant

Family : Cactaceae

Longevity : Perennial

Origin : Native

Season : Cool

Border Pricklypear grows at high elevations in limestone soils of the Edwards Plateau and South Texas Plains. It occurs only in a small strip of about 20 miles from the Anaconcho Mountains in the southwest corner of Uvalde county, through the mountains of the Devil’s and Pecos rivers, to near Dryden, Texas. It is a low and spreading cactus about 2 feet tall and 6 feet wide. The round to egg-shaped joints are 4 to 7 inches long and 3 1/2 to 6 inches wide. The spines are are black to reddish brown at the base and tend to shade to yellow at the tips. The deep chrome yellow flower is approximately 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter and fades into a flesh or apricot color with age. The fruit, when ripe, is reddish-purple and 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. Border Pricklypear blooms in the spring.

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