Flowers: Blooms during early summer. Inflorescence: flowers solitary along upper edge of pads (set atop developing fruit). Flowers: yellow to orange; to about 1-1/2-inches diameter; filaments white; style white, stigma greenish.
Fruit: "Cactus apple." Fruit juicy, purplish exterior and interior; 1 to 2-1/2-inches long. Spines absent, but glochids present.
Seeds: Small, to about 6 mm.
Habitat: Dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on upper bajadas and moderate slopes in the lower mountains.
Distribution: California to Texas and south into Mexico.
Elevation: About sea level to 5,000 feet.
Comments: Pricklypear species hybridize, sometimes making identification difficult. This confusion is evidenced by the plethora of scientific names assigned to populations of this species. |