Is the Prickly Pear an Angiosperm in the Phylum Family?

Characteristics

• The genus opuntia has approximately 15 species, including the prickly pear, beaver tail and bunny ears. All opuntia have pads that are not leaves but actually stems, the leaves being the spines that emerge from small growths on the pads. The pads conserve water for the plant, produce flowers and photosynthesize. Flowering lasts for several weeks in late spring, and blooms can range from yellows to vivid reds. The plant is blue-gray, and the pads can vary, depending on the species, from 4 to 16 inches long, up to 9 inches wide and 3/4-inch thick. The spines may be covered in down but are extremely sharp although cultivated varieties rarely have spines. Like many other plants, opuntia has several ways of reproducing. The seeds are viable and will readily germinate, but the plant can reproduce asexually by cutting and planting the mature pads.

Habitat

• While the prickly pear is native to the North American continent, it has been spread as far as Australia and South Africa, where it has adapted so well it is declared a noxious weed, and to the Mediterranean. The eastern prickly pear, or humifosa, is native to the Pelee Island Reserve in southwestern Ontario, Canada, but the same cactus, also known farther south as the low or smooth prickly pear, is a native of the Chihuanhua, Great Basin, Mojave and Sonoran deserts. The plains prickly pair, which grows to 18 inches in height, can be found at elevations of 10,000 feet.

Uses

• The prickly pear is a valued commercial crop in many regions, from Sicily to California, for its fruit but has a myriad of other uses. Planted a foot apart, prickly pears form an impenetrable wall after several years, and the plants are hardy enough to be used for erosion control. In Mexico, the sap of the pad can be boiled down then mixed with whitewash to form a weatherproof surface for adobe walls; the sap is also used to make gum. The flesh of the pads is nutritionally adequate for livestock, and spineless varieties have been developed. The pads are diced and sliced similar to green beans, and the fruits, which come in a wide range of colors and sizes, are sweet and succulent.

Cochineal

• The prickly pear plays another important role in food production as host to the cochineal beetle. Growers allow the beetle to infest the cactus so that they can be harvested for the food dye. In Australia where prickly pear is considered a noxious weed, the introduced cochineal beetle has helped control the spread of the cactus.