UW Burke Herbarium species comparison

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Opuntia littoralis

Opuntia fragilis

brittle prickly-pear, little prickly-pear
Habit Fleshy, prostrate perennials, forming mats 0.5-2 dm. tall; stems jointed, the sections nearly as thick as broad, obovoid to sub-globose, 2-5 cm. long.
Leaves

Leaves scale-like, early-deciduous; the stem sections have several special cushions which bear white-woolly hair, a few yellowish bristles, and 2-7 straight, brownish spines 1-3 cm. long.
Flowers

Flowers solitary on special cushions, yellow, 3-5 cm. long and broad;

sepals many, imbricate, greenish;

petals and stamens numerous, the filaments reddish;

style 1, stigma lobed;

ovary inferior, 1-celled.
Fruits

Berry pear-shaped, dry, 1.5-2 cm. long, somewhat spiny.

Opuntia littoralis

Opuntia fragilis
Flowering time May-July
Habitat Dry, open, often sandy soil.
Distribution
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Great Lakes region.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Origin Native
Conservation status Not of concern
Sibling taxa
O. columbiana, O. fragilis
O. columbiana
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the University of Washington's Burke Herbarium.



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Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

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