 | Blind Prickly Pear Opuntia rufida Cactaceae Gravelly desert slopes play host to the blind prickly pear growing in the Big Bend area of the Trans-Pecos and Northern Mexico, from an elevation of 1800 to 3600 feet. It is fairly erect, with or without a real trunk. Its blue-green to grey-green joints lack noticeable spines, or it may be spineless. Yellow flowers change to orange and produce fleshy, smooth, bright red, rounded fruit. The joints or pads have many evenly spaced, polka-dotted areoles bearing numerous rusty reddish-brown glochids (little barbed hairs or bristles). These glochids are loosely attached and are prone to dislodge and fly into the air when the plants are bumped or shaken. They get into animals' eyes and cause blindness. Hence the common name. Rufida refers to the reddish-brown glochids. Plant Habit or Use: small shrub Exposure: sun Flower Color: pale yellow, changing to orange with age Blooming Period: spring Fruit Characteristics: bright red, fleshy, 1 inch long Height: 8 inches to 5 feet Width: to 6 feet Plant Character: evergreen Heat Tolerance: very high Water Requirements:
Soil Requirements: neutral Additional Comments:
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