Safety note: Long spines and nearly invisible glochids cause painful wounds; glochids are extremely difficult to remove from skin.
Engelmann's Prickly Pear is one of the most common and conspicuous cacti of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts, forming large shrubby clumps up to 5 feet tall with broad blue-green pads. It bears large, showy yellow flowers in spring that can span 3 inches across, and produces abundant red-purple fruits — called tunas — that are eaten fresh or used to make jelly and juice. The plant is a critical food and water source for desert wildlife during dry periods and supports specialist cactus bees.
Habitat
Desert flats, rocky slopes, bajadas, and grassland margins across the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts.
Diet
Fruits eaten by coyotes, javelinas, deer, white-winged doves, and many birds; flowers visited by specialist cactus bees and bumblebees.
How common
Common
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