Engelmann's Prickly Pear
Opuntia engelmannii
The classic broad-padded prickly pear, with big yellow blooms and magenta fruit (tunas) eaten fresh or made into jelly. Forms sprawling thickets that shelter desert wildlife.
- Family
- Cactaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 3–6 ft
- Spacing
- 4–10 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- April, May, June
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, mammals
- Landscape uses
- hedge or screen, foundation, erosion control
- Native states
- AZ, CA, LA, NM, NV, OK, TX, UT
Related native plants
More Opuntia species
- Beavertail Prickly Pear (Opuntia basilaris)
- Eastern Prickly Pear (Opuntia humifusa)
- Tulip Prickly Pear (Opuntia phaeacantha)
- Plains Prickly Pear (Opuntia macrorhiza)
- Purple Prickly Pear (Opuntia macrocentra)
- Santa Rita Prickly Pear (Opuntia santa-rita)