Eastern Prickly Pear

Opuntia humifusa

Safety note: Spines and nearly invisible glochids (tiny barbed bristles) cause painful skin irritation and are difficult to remove. Handle fruits with tongs or thick gloves.

Eastern Prickly Pear is the most widespread native cactus of eastern North America, growing from New England to Florida and west to the Great Plains. Its flat, paddle-shaped pads bear clusters of spines and treacherous tiny glochids, and it produces brilliant yellow flowers followed by edible, wine-red fruits called tunas. It thrives in dry, sandy, or rocky open habitats and is an important component of coastal sand dune and pine barren ecosystems. The fruits and pads were used as food by Indigenous peoples across its range.

Habitat

Sandy beaches, dry rocky outcrops, pine barrens, prairies, open uplands

Diet

Fruits eaten by eastern box turtles, mockingbirds, deer, and foxes; flowers pollinated by native bees

How common

Common