XBrittle Pricklypear (Opuntia fragilis)X
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Brittle Pricklypear (Opuntia fragilis), family Cactaceae (Cactus)
This species is native to North America. The name fragilis is indicative of the plants tendancy to easily release it's spines as a means of propagation. There are 3 subspecies, per Wikipedia - all in Colorado, and this could be one of those: Var. brachyarthra, Coult. A plant with more swollen joints, more numerous and stronger spines, smaller flowers and more spiny fruit Colorado, New Mexico. Var. caespitosa, Hort. Joints bright green, smaller and more crowded than in the type: flowers bright yellow. Colorado. Var. tuberiformis, Hort. Joints olive-green, bulbous-looking. Colorado.
USES: Brittle Pricklypear has both medicinal and edible properties. From the website Native American Ethnobotany are these records of uses by Native American Indian Tribes: Okanagan-Colville Dermatological Aid) Poultice of flesh applied to skin sores and infections. (Diuretic) Flesh eaten to cause urination. Food - Flesh and fat boiled into a soup. Flesh pit cooked or roasted and eaten. (Hunting & Fishing Item) Spines used to make fish hooks. Blooms indicated saskatoon berries ready to be picked. Shuswap (Dermatological Aid) Poultice of heated quills applied to cuts, sores and boils. Poultice of heated quills applied to swollen throats. Stems used for food. Thompson (Dessert) Stems roasted over a fire, peeled and eaten as dessert by children. Stems used for food during times of famine. Stems steam cooked in pits, the outer, spiny skin peeled off and the insides used for food. Stems mixed with berry juice and canned for future use. Mucilaginous material from cut stems used for glue by some people, but not considered very good. The website Plants For a Future also notes that the flesh of the leaf pads is a diuretic. The seeds, briefly roasted, then ground into powder, make an effective thickener.
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Plant location: Sighted in Left Hand Canyon near Boulder Colorado on June 29, 2014. The species is widespread throughout the United States and Canada: AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, KS, MI, MN, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY), CAN: (AB, BC, MB, ON, SK)Plant -
Bloom season: Late spring to early summer - May through June.
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