Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, Opuntia phaeacantha

Opuntia phaeacantha

Opuntia phaeacantha (Prickly Pear Cactus)
Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Openings. Spring, summer.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, June 12, 2007 and September 2, 2007.

Yellow flowers and red fruit.

Opuntia phaeacantha

Opuntia phaeacantha (Prickly Pear Cactus)
Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Openings. Spring, summer.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, June 12, 2007 and April 18, 2010.

Opuntia phaeacantha long, brown-tipped spines are formidable but far less of a human problem than the multitude of brown, minute, hair-like, glochids -- the fuzzy and soft-appearing clusters at the base of the spines. These little devils are painful and difficult to remove.

Opuntia phaeacantha

Opuntia phaeacantha (Prickly Pear Cactus)
Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Openings. Spring, summer.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, June 12, 2007 and September 2, 2007.

Yellow flowers and red fruit.

Opuntia phaeacantha (Prickly Pear Cactus)
Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Openings. Spring, summer.
Near Bluff, Utah, April 24, 2008.

Opuntia phaeacantha (Prickly Pear Cactus)
Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Openings. Spring, summer.
Mesa Verde National Park, Prater Ridge Trail, June 17, 2006.

Click for more Opuntia.