Opuntia polyacantha var. hystricina

Porcupine prickly-pear, Porcupine Prickly-Pear

Family: Cactaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Porcupine prickly-pear is a California native shrub found in the southeastern desert regions in desert grassland and pinyon/juniper woodland at elevations of 1,500 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from May to June, this cactus produces pale flowers with distinctive spiny areoles. Growing as a low shrub with spreading brown to black spines 5 to 8 centimeters long, it forms dense, protective clusters with shorter gray spines. Its areoles are densely covered with 4 to 18 spines, creating a formidable defensive structure. The fruit is similarly spiny, with 11 to 21 areoles providing additional protection in harsh desert environments.

Habitat: Uncommon in California. Desert grassland, pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 1500-2600 m

Bioregions: SNE

California counties: Mono, Inyo, San Bernardino, Riverside, Tulare

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