Opuntia fragilis

Brittle prickly-pear

Family: Cactaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.1

Brittle prickly-pear is a rare (CNPS 2B.1) California native shrub found in western Cascade Range Foothills in the Shasta Valley, Siskiyou County, in juniper woodland at an elevation of 880 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces yellow flowers with occasional red bases and white or red filaments. Growing as a low, decumbent-sprawling shrub with green segments 2 to 5.5 centimeters long, it features 3 to 7 spines per areole that are round, straight, and up to 3.5 centimeters long in shades of gray with brown tips. Its segments are generally elliptic-obovate, roughly equal in thickness and width, with subtle tubercles and terminal segments that detach easily. The fruit is approximately 1.3 centimeters long, dry and tan, with 19 to 21 areoles and sparse spines.

Habitat: Juniper woodland

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 880 m

Bioregions: w CaRH (Shasta Valley, Siskiyou Co.)

California counties: Siskiyou, Inyo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.