Succulent herbs and shrubs; stems usually spiny and leafless; sepals and
petals not differentiated, few or many; stamens many; ovary inferior;
fruit pulpy, often edible.
Devil’s Tongue. Low Prickly Pear (_Opuntia humifusa_) grows in dry,
rocky or sandy soil from Texas to Missouri, the flowers blooming in May
and June and the fruits ripening to a rose-red in the late summer and
fall. The flat-jointed stems are often oval but vary in shape and in the
number of large spines growing from the spine cushions scattered over
the stems. Sometimes no spines are present, but often 1-2 occur along
the margins. Numerous short leaves, which are present only in the spring
in this and other cacti, grow from the spine cushions. The spine
cushions also bear dense clusters of slender, short brown spines. The
flowers are yellow with red centers, 3-4 in. broad, widely spreading.
Like many other cacti, they open in bright sunlight. The plant is low
and has tuberous roots.
Texas Prickly Pear. Lindheimer’s Cactus (_Opuntia lindheimeri_) has
flowers which are yellow upon opening but which take on a lovely
saffron-red the next day. Flowers of both colors are often present on
the same joint. The large purple pear-shaped fruits are edible and ripen
in the summer and fall. The plants often grow in large clumps and attain
a great height. The spine cushions of the oval joints bear 2-3 rather
short, stout, stiff spines. It is the common prickly pear from Central
Texas south into Mexico.
The pencil cactus or tasajillo (_Opuntia leptocaulis_), conspicuous for
its small stems and bright red fruits, is abundant in the state and
Mexico. “Cholla,” or walking-stick cactus (_Opuntia imbricata_), with
long slender stems and purple flowers, is common on western plains.
The cactus family has numerous representatives in Texas, but drastic
legislation is needed to save some of the natural beauty spots of the
western part of the state. The showy “viznaga” or barrel-cactus, used in
making cactus candy, is almost exterminated in the vicinity of El Paso;
and cactus fanciers are making great ravages on many others. The fruits
of many are edible; the young leaves of the prickly pears are cooked for
greens; and the stems are used for cattle feed after the spines have
been burned.