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Discus Prickly Pear (Opuntia discata) 



(The names refer to the disk-shaped joints) 



How to identify and how it grows 



The Discus Prickly Pear, or discata, also grows in clumps 

 from three to five feet high and as much as ten feet across, 

 and has numerous ascending and spreading branches. This 

 plant, too, will make an excellent cactus hedge. Its spread- 

 ing branches are the disk-shaped joints of the stems, nearly 

 a foot in diameter and circular and platelike, of a pale blue- 

 green which in some lights is changeable. These disks are 

 covered with fringes of yellow and brown spicules, needle- 

 like and tough, and the edges also are fringed with them. 

 Placed among the spicules are three or four twisted stout 

 spines, white with yellow tips, and awl-shaped. The large 

 flowers are three or four inches long, and are very showy and 

 conspicuous with their bright satiny yellow tints. They 

 bloom in April and May, and the pear-shaped deep purple 

 fruit, three inches or so long, comes in July. 



How to grow 



Plants grow outside and indoors, enduring zero temper- 

 atures without Injury. Plant mature cuttings of one joint 

 six Inches deep In moist soil early in spring and water about 

 once a month to keep the soil lightly moist. They will grow 

 In almost any soil, but best In sandy loam. Plants also grow 

 from seed, but these are slow to germinate. 



EnGELMANN'S Prickly Pear (Opuntia Engelmannh) 



(Named in honor of Dr. George Engelmann, an early and 

 outstanding student of cacti) 



How to identify and how it grows 



Engelmann's Prickly Pear Is a large spreading shrub six 

 to twelve feet In diameter growing to five feet In height, 



