EASTERN CACTUS; PRICKLY PEAR; INDIAN FIG
(Opuntia Opuntia; 0. vulgaris of Gray) Cactus family
Flowers -Yellow, sometimes reddish at center, 2 to 3 in. across,
solitary, mostly seated at the side of joints. Calyx tube not
prolonged beyond ovary, its numerous lobes spreading. Petals
numerous; stamens very numerous; ovary cylindric; the style
longer than stamens, and with several stigmas. Stem: Prostrate or
ascending, fleshy, juicy, branching, the thick, flattened joints
oblong or rounded, 2 to 5 in. long. Leaves: Tiny, awl-shaped,
dotting the joints, but usually falling early; tufts of yellowish
bristles at their base. Plant unarmed, or with few solitary stout
spines. Fruit: Pear-shaped, pulpy, red, nearly smooth, 1 in. long
or over, edible.
Preferred Habitat - Sandy or dry or rocky places.
Flowering Season - June-August.
Distribution - Massachusetts to Florida.
Upwards of one hundred and fifty species of Opuntia, which elect
to grow in parching sands, beneath a scorching sun, often
prostrate on baking hot rocks, on glaring plains, beaches, and
deserts, from Massachusetts to Peru - for all are natives of the
New World - show so marvelous an adaptation to environment in
each instance that no group of plants is more interesting to the
botanist, more decorative in form and color from an artistic
standpoint, more distinctively characteristic.
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