Engelmann's Pricklypear
Opuntia engelmannii

Family: Cactaceae

This prickly pear species is quite variable with several regional varieties. The most common species we sell gets about 4’ tall and about 6-10’ wide, though individuals can get much larger, with some specimens approaching 12’. tall (usually scrambling up a tree). From April to July you can expect large yellow flowers which are followed by fruits that turn brick red. Sometimes flowers can be pink, buff, orange, or red.

In the Sonoran Desert, terminal pads face predominantly east-west, so as to maximize the absorption of solar radiation during summer rains. Although found occasionally in the Mojave Desert, it tends to be replaced by Opuntia basilaris, which does not need the summer rain.

Plant in full sun. Plants require low water, but a watering once or twice a month in summer is beneficial and keeps plants healthy, particularly during times of extreme drought. This species is very cold hardy and can tolerate temperatures below zero, as low as the upper teens °F.

Photo of Opuntia engelmannii var. engelmanii by Russell Pfau, iNaturalist
Opuntia engelmanii on SEINET

We recommend watering plants in the summer when there is drought to prevent rots. During droughts plants will have natural root dye-back, and this is normal. But during extended droughts like the two year drought of 2019-2020, plants had excessive root dye-back and when the rains finally came, many plants just rotted. Many people thought that the really wet summer is what rotted the cacti, but it was the response to copious moisture coming into contact with lots of dead roots, and those rots chased up into the plants.

Flowers are very important for native bee species, though numerous other pollinators use the flowers. Fruits are eaten by birds, bats, and many other animals. Prickly pear plants provide important habitat for birds, native rodents like packrats, and numerous other animals. Larval host for the tineid moth Dyotopasta yumaella, the grass moth Dicymolomia opuntialis, the snout moth Laetilia dilatifasciella, and the grass moth Pseudoschinia elautalis.

A poultice of the heated plant applied to the breasts was an aid for breast-feeding; the ripe tunas (fruit) are eaten fresh, dried, ground, mixed with corn meal, used as a red dye, fermented for a beverage, and made into a syrup; the tender pads are eaten as nopalitos. Prickly pear fruits are even distilled into a sort of brandy. Be careful not to consume too much prickly pear fruits/full-strength juice at once. Prickly pear juice dramatically decreases blood pressure, which is a good thing. But too much at once can give the consumer flu-like symptoms like nausea and tiredness.

The nomenclatural history of this species is somewhat complicated due to the varieties, as well as its habit of hybridizing with Opuntia phaeacantha. It differs from Opuntia phaeacantha by being green year round instead of turning reddish purple during winter or dry seasons, as well as having yellow flowers with red centers.

The varieties

Opuntia engelmannii var. engelmannii — Engelmann's prickly pear; Mexico, southwestern U.S., California

Opuntia engelmannii var. cuija — nopal cuijo; endemic to Mexico, in Guanajuato, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí.

Opuntia engelmannii var. flavispina — yellow-spined prickly pear; Arizona, Mexico

Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri — Texas prickly pear; endemic to U.S. in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas.

Opuntia engelmannii var. linguiformis — cow's tongue cactus, cow tongue prickly pear; Texas. Some lump this group in with var. lindheimeri.

Opuntia is from Latin root puncti for prickled; engelmannii is named for Georg Engelmann (1809-1884) a German born, American botanical collector. There are approximately 176 species currently accepted for the genus. Like most true cactus species, prickly pears are native only to the Americas. Through human action, they have since been introduced to many other areas of the world.

The species as a whole is found on sandy, gravelly, or rocky soils, slopes, bajadas, and flats from 1,000-9,000’ from California to Louisiana in the United States, and from Sonora and Chihuahua, to the Tamaulipan matorral in north and central Tamaulipas.