Opuntia fragilis - (image 1 of 1)
Taxonomy
Family: Cactaceae
Habitat
Dry prairies and plains.
Associates
Distribution
IL, WI, and northern MI to British Columbia, northern TX and AZ.
Morphology
Prostrate or spreading, fibrous-rooted perennial, forming dense mats to 50 cm wide; stems branched and jointed; joints orbicular to obovate, very turgid, 2-5 cm long and 1-2.5 cm wide, easily detached; areoles crowded, commonly 3-6 mm apart, usually coarsely white-woolly, all or nearly all armed with (1-)3-7 strongly barbed spines 1.2-2.5 cm; flowers yellow or greenish, 4-5 cm wide; fruit fleshy and greenish to reddish when young, dry and tan at maturity, inedible, 1.2-1.5 cm; seeds discoid, with an irregular margin.
Notes
Flowers May to July
Wetland indicator: NA
The easily detached pads (stems) may aid in vegetative dispersal.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.
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Michael Hough © 2018 |