Most of the prickly pear cactus around us are all the same: Opuntia polycantha. The pads are pretty big, probably 5″ long, and 4″ wide, and the plants themselves can spread out to make big patches. The flowers are yellow. In the summer they look like this:
This time of year they’re shriveled and purple or red, the pads lying low on the ground. That’s why, when we saw this variation, we were so surprised.
The pads are only about an inch in diameter and they don’t turn that winter red that the bigger ones do. Since we just found these we don’t know what color the bloom is. A friend said that it is probably also Opuntia polycantha. It is a species that varies greatly. They seem so different it’s hard to believe, but whatever it is, I like it. Here’s a little closer look:
