CACTUS FAMILY 151 



Prickly Peae. Indian Fig (Genus Opuntia) 



Scattered here and there throughout the pinelands, 

 going down to meet the ocean on the sandy shores, and 

 not disdaining the rock foundation of southern Florida, 

 prickly pear cacti are at home in every part of the state. 

 Several species are found, and their large yellow flowers 

 are in strange contrast with the ugly stems and still more 

 ugly spines, which in some species are sharp and stout 

 enough to pierce shoe leather. The flattened, padlike 

 joints bear groups of minute bristles and of longer spines, 

 and, though the plants are practically leafless, tiny awl- 

 shaped leaves, which soon fall, appear with each group 

 of bristles. 0. austrina, one of the more common, has 

 long, tuber-bearing roots. 



Opuntia ammopliila, a grayish green prickly pear cactus 

 that is sometimes six feet tall and tree-like in appearance, 

 grows in the dry sand of the "scrub," and is copiously 

 armed with slender spines. 



The sweet but insipid fruit of the larger prickly pears 

 was eaten by the Indians, and is occasionally made into 

 Jelly. In other countries sugar has been made from the 

 fruit, and the juice has been used in confectionery. 



Opuntia austrina. Flowers yellow, 2-3 in. across. Petals 

 many, inner sepals petal-like. Stamens many. Fruit purple, 

 about 1 in. long. Plants spreading, joints 2-4 in. long, 

 spines solitary or 2 together. Dry soil. Blooming in spring. 

 Fla. 



Opuntia DiUenii. Flowers yellow or reddish, 2-3 in. across. 

 Fruit purple, about 2 in. long. Plants erect, joints 4-12 in. 

 long, spines 3-6 together. Near the coast. Fla. peninsula. 



Opuntia ficus-indica. Flowers yellow, 3-4 in. across. Fruit 

 reddish, 2-3 in. long. Plants 3-15 ft. tall, joints 10-18 in. 

 long, spines usually lacking. Fields and waste places. Fla. 



