Opuntia microdasys

Bunny ears, Bunny Ears

Family: Cactaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Bunny ears is a naturalized shrub found in San Diego County's desert and chaparral regions at elevations around 490 meters. Flowering from March to June, this distinctive plant produces yellow inner perianth flowers with white filaments and a white style with green stigma. Growing up to 1 to 2 meters tall with sprawling to erect branches, the shrub features flat, light green segments 7 to 15 centimeters long that are velvety pubescent. Its most striking feature is the absence of spines, instead having abundant yellow or red-brown glochids that cover its surface. The plant produces red, fleshy fruits 2 to 3 centimeters long with numerous areoles and additional glochid clusters.

Habitat: Desert, chaparral

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 490 m

Bioregions: PR (San Diego Co.)

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