Plains Prickly Pear
Opuntia macrorhiza
Plains prickly pear is a low, cold-hardy prickly pear of the Great Plains with yellow (sometimes red-centered) flowers and a deep storage root, tough for dry, sunny meadows.
- Family
- Cactaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 0.5–1 ft
- Spacing
- 0.5–1 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Bloom
- May, June
- Bloom colors
- red, orange, yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, mammals
- Landscape uses
- groundcover, naturalizing
- Native states
- AR, AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, KS, LA, MN, MO, MS, NE, NM, OH, OK, SD, TX, UT, WI, WY
Related native plants
More Opuntia species
- Beavertail Prickly Pear (Opuntia basilaris)
- Engelmann's Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii)
- Eastern Prickly Pear (Opuntia humifusa)
- Tulip Prickly Pear (Opuntia phaeacantha)
- Purple Prickly Pear (Opuntia macrocentra)
- Santa Rita Prickly Pear (Opuntia santa-rita)