| Description | A Cactus that is hardy to zone #5. |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (oh-PUN-shee-uh) |
| Plant Type | All Plants, Cactus |
| Hardiness Zone | 5 |
| Sunlight | full |
| Moisture | average to dry |
| Soil & Site | Found native to dry prairies and plains, soil needs to be dry and well drained |
| Flowers | yellow, may have a red center, 7 or more parts, 2-3 inches, May-June |
| Fruit | edible, red-purple, fleshy and juicy |
| Stems | flat, jointed, pads broadly oval, well armored Spines: mostly bent back wards, straight or slightly curing white to gray to brown, glochids yellow to brown |
| Dimensions | forms prostrate spreading mats up to five feet wide, |
| Propagation | division, rooting of pads (stems) |
| Misc Facts | Optunia is of Greek origin, macrorhiza refers to large roots. (syn: o. mesacantha, O. tortispina) |
| Author's Notes | Relatively easy plants to grow if given the proper site, full sun and well drained. Probably the hardest thing to get use to is how they look in the winter. The pads get shriveled and wrinkled looking very distressed. |
| Notes & Reference | #69-Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada ( Gleason, Cronquist), #100-Wildflowers of Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest (Black and Judziewicz)) |
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