brittle prickly pear
(Opuntia fragilis)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Use • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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| IUCN Red List | LC - Least Concern |
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| NatureServe | N4N5 - Apparently Secure to Secure SNR - Unranked |
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| Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Brittle prickly pear is a prostrate or spreading, perennial, succulent shrub. It forms dense mats 2″ to 4″ tall and up to 20″ wide. It flowers infrequently, if at all. The stems are prostrate or spreading, branched, and jointed. The stem segments (joints) are dark green, very swollen, hairless, ¾″ to 2″ long, ⅜″ to 1″ wide, and variable in shape. They may be almost circular to almost cone-shaped, or egg-shaped and slightly flattened. The terminal joint on each stem is easily detached. The areoles are densely woolly and crowded. They are armed with 1 to 4 central, ½″ to 1″ long, gray spines with brown tips, and 4 to 6 outer, smaller spines. Most areoles have a total of 3 to 8 spines. The glochids are tan to brown, inconspicuous, up to ⅛″ long, in a crescent at the upper margin of the areole. The inflorescence is a solitary, 19 ⁄16″ to 2″ wide, yellow to greenish flower. The fruit is a pear-shaped, ⅜″ to 1¼″ long, 5 ⁄16″ to ⅝″ wide berry. It is greenish to reddish and fleshy when young, tan and dry at maturity. It is inedible. |
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Height |
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2″ to 4″ |
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Flower Color |
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Yellow to greenish |
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Similar Species |
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| Plains prickly pear (Opuntia macrohiza) has conspicuously flattened pads. | ||
Habitat |
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Dry. Prairies. |
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Biology |
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Flowering |
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May to July |
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Pests and Diseases |
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Use |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 3/3/2023 | ||||
Nativity |
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Native |
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Occurrence |
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Taxonomy |
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| Kingdom | Plantae (green algae and land plants) | ||
| Subkingdom | Viridiplantae (green plants) | ||
| Infrakingdom | Streptophyta (land plants and green algae) | ||
| Superdivision | Embryophyta (land plants) | ||
| Division | Tracheophyta (vascular plants) | ||
| Subdivision | Spermatophytina (seed plants) | ||
| Class | Magnoliopsida (flowering plants) | ||
| Subclass | Caryophyllidae | ||
| Superorder | Caryophyllanae | ||
Order |
Caryophyllales (pinks, cactuses, and allies) | ||
Family |
Cactaceae (cactus) | ||
| Subfamily | Opuntioideae | ||
| Tribe | Opuntieae | ||
Genus |
Opuntia (prickly pears) | ||
Subordinate Taxa |
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Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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brittle cactus brittle prickly pear brittle prickly-pear brittle pricklypear fragile cactus fragile prickly pear fragile prickly-pear jumping cactus little prickly pear little pricklypear pygmy prickly-pear pygmy-tuna |
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Glossary
Areole
A woolly, hairy, or cushion-like structure, unique to cacti, from which arise spines or glochids.
Glochid
A small, barbed or hooked hair or bristle on a cactus.
Succulent
Having thick leaves, stems, or roots that store water. Succulent tissues appear fleshy externally and juicy internally.
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| Lynn Rubey 6/22/2019 |
Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge Brittle Prickly Pear Cacti in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge on the granite outcroppings. |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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