Engelmann pricklypear, a semierect, branched plant commonly 

 growing in dense patches about 3 to 5 (occasionally up to 6 or 7) 

 feet high, or as isolated individuals 1 to 5 feet in diameter, is a 

 characteristic representative of the group of cacti with flattened 

 stem joints commonly known as pricklypears. The flowers of this 

 species are a rich, bright yellow and, as is characteristic of the 

 pricklypear group as a whole, are very showy and beautiful. 

 Patches of Engelmann pricklypear in full bloom present a scene of 

 striking beauty. 



The famous French botanist Tournefprt, who founded the genus 

 Opuntia in 1719, states x that his genus is named for a certain small 

 herb (Pliny's "herba Opuntia") which Theophrastus mentions as 

 growing about the town of Opous ("circa Opuntem") in Boeotia, 

 Greece. The species engelmawii commemorates Dr. George Engel- 

 mann (1809-84), a distinguished German- American physician and 

 botanist, who made extensive studies of cacti, conifers, and other 

 plants, and to whom also Engelmann spruce is dedicated. 



Tourney and Rose (in Bailey 2 ) state that Engelmann pricklypear, 

 "with its numerous varieties, is the most widely distributed and 

 abundant of the large, flat-stemmed opuntias in the United States." 

 The wide geographic range of the species doubtless is a major factor 

 in its great variability. The species, or some variety of it, occurs 

 from western Texas to California, and practically throughout Mex- 

 ico from whence it was first described. The fleshy, flattened stems 

 and the very small size and number of leaves serve to reduce the 

 evaporating surface materially, while the numerous, widespreading, 

 extensive fibrous roots furnish a comparatively large absorbing area. 

 These features combine to make Engelmann pricklypear highly 

 drought-resistant. It is also resistant to heat and, in the United 

 States, attains its best development at low altitudes in the foothills 

 of the southern sectors of the Southwestern States. This plant 

 occasionally forms dense patches on soils of good quality, especially 

 where the grass cover has been depleted. 



Engelmann pricklypear attains its greatest forage value as emer- 

 gency feed for cattle and sheep during extended drought. This and 

 other species of pricklypear have helped to tide many thousands 

 of cattle and sheep over critical periods when the grass crop had 

 failed temporarily. During such emergencies, the spines of prickly- 

 pear are singed off in the field to make the fleshy joints accessible 

 to cattle. The spines are sometimes also singed for sheep, but ordi- 

 narily the herder cuts off a portion of the joint, which allows the 

 animals to insert their noses into the flesh of the joints and eat the 

 plant without injury from the spines. When thus made available 

 these plants are palatable to cattle and sheep, and good results have 

 been obtained in feeding this species to livestock. 3 4 5 During mod- 



1 Tournefort, J. P. INSTITUTIONES HEI HERBARIAB. v. 1, pp. 239-240. Paris. 1710. 



2 Bailey, L. H. THE STANDARD CYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE . . . New ed., 3 v., illus. 

 New York and London. 1933. 



8 Griffiths, D., and Hare, R. F. PRICKLY PEAR AND OTHER CACTI AS FOOD FOR STOCK n. 

 N. Mex. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 60, 134 pp., illus. 1906. 



4 Hare, R. P. EXPERIMENTS ON THE DIGESTIBILITY OF PRICKLY PEAR BY CATTLE. N. Mex., 

 Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 69, 48 pp., illus. 1908. 



5 Griffiths, D. PRICKLY PEAR AS STOCK FEED. U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bull. 1072, 

 24 pp., illus. 1920. 



