NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details
Opuntia drummondii [=Opuntia pusilla]
Dune Prickly-pear, Sand-bur Prickly-pear, Little Prickly-pear, Creeping Cactus, Cockspur Prickly-pear
Scientific Name: |
Opuntia drummondii [=Opuntia pusilla] |
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Genus: |
Opuntia |
Species Epithet: |
drummondii |
Common Name: |
Dune Prickly-pear, Sand-bur Prickly-pear, Little Prickly-pear, Creeping Cactus, Cockspur Prickly-pear |
Plant Type |
Shrub |
Life Cycle |
Perennial |
Plant Family |
Cactaceae (Cactus Family) |
Native/Alien: |
NC Native |
Invasive Status: |
(*Key) |
Size: |
0-1 ft. |
Bloom Color(s): |
Yellow |
Light: |
Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day |
Soil Moisture: |
Dry |
Bloom Time: |
April, May, June |
Growing Area: |
Coastal Plain |
Habitat Description: |
Dunes on barrier islands, less commonly on river-associated sands and on granite outcrops. In coastal dunes and sand flats, it can be locally common in NC, but overall along the coast best called infrequent to fairly common. |
Leaf Arrangement: |
No apparent leaves |
Leaf Retention: |
Evergreen |
Leaf Type: |
Leaves needle-like or scale-like |
Leaf Form: |
No Apparent Leaves |
Life Cycle: |
Perennial |
Wildlife Value: |
Important for Wildlife |
Landscape Value: |
Not Recommended for home landscapes |
State Rank: |
S3: Vulnerable (*Key) |
Global Rank: |
G4 - Apparently Secure (*Key) |
Notes: |
It is heavily armed with strong 1” long spines. The fleshy “pads” are only about 1” long on average, but they easily break off when someone steps on them and get the spines stuck in their shoe or (worse) in their foot. It can inflict painful wounds, the spines not easily removed from flesh or clothing because of the retrorse barbs. O. drummondii is easily separated from other species in the eastern US by the production of very small cladodes with strongly retrorsely barbed spines; the cladodes easily disarticulate at the nodes and are often dispersed vegetatively forming clones of the parent plants. |
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Fleshy “pads” are only about 1” long and easily break off. Garden in Orange County, NC
Bettina Darveaux |
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Close-up of heavily armed stems Garden in Orange County, NC
Bettina Darveaux |
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Links: |
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![The Scientific Name is Opuntia drummondii [=Opuntia pusilla]. You will likely hear them called Dune Prickly-pear, Sand-bur Prickly-pear, Little Prickly-pear, Creeping Cactus, Cockspur Prickly-pear. This picture shows the Fleshy “pads” are only about 1” long and easily break off. of Opuntia drummondii [=Opuntia pusilla]](https://ncwildflower.org/images/plants/IMG_1827.jpg "Fleshy “pads” are only about 1” long and easily break off. of Opuntia drummondii [=Opuntia pusilla]")
![The Scientific Name is Opuntia drummondii [=Opuntia pusilla]. You will likely hear them called Dune Prickly-pear, Sand-bur Prickly-pear, Little Prickly-pear, Creeping Cactus, Cockspur Prickly-pear. This picture shows the Close-up of heavily armed stems of Opuntia drummondii [=Opuntia pusilla]](https://ncwildflower.org/images/plants/IMG_4577.jpg "Close-up of heavily armed stems of Opuntia drummondii [=Opuntia pusilla]")
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