Opuntia dulcis

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Opuntia dulcis is a cactus native to the United States and Mexico. It is sometimes described as a variety of Opuntia phaeacantha or confused with it. It is a larger plant with ascending branches, usually reaching about 2 feet tall and sometimes up to 4 feet. Young plants may be similar in size to O. phaeacantha. Opuntia dulcis resembles Opuntia engelmannii in some ways, but it is not as erect or large, and its spines are finer. This cactus grows in the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, especially in Trans-Pecos Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, and it has been found in the mountains of southern Nevada.