Arizona's Other Famous Cactus
- The Prickly Pear

Prickly Pear Cactus with Ripe Red Fruits

While the monolithic saguaro cactus, stretching its arms to the blue desert sky might well be the most popular emblem of the Sonoran desert, you won't see any saguaros around Sedona, at least not in the wild. Most of red rock country is too high in elevation for the saguaro, but not so for Arizona's other well-known cactus, the prickly pear. They're tolerant of many different soils and climates, which is why you'll see it all over the state. Prickly pear flourish in the hot dry Sonoran desert and mingle with the pine trees at up to 9000 feet in the high country.

Each year they celebrate the late spring and early summer with colorful explosions of yellow, white, pink, red and magenta blooms along their distinctive pads. They follow this act by producing plump oblong fruits that are the favorite treat of numerous desert birds and mammals, including some people.

The flat pads of the prickly pear are actually modified stems that store water in their fibrous interior and conduct photosynthesis, as well as producing flowers and fruit.

They're also the vehicle for the long pointed spines that protect the cactus from some, but not all, potential diners. Prickly pear pads and fruit are the favorite and primary food of the javelina, which seems completely undeterred by the spines. They also have clusters of fine, tiny barbed spines called glochids that easily detach from the pads, but don't easily detach from a bare leg or wagging tail.

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Arizona's Other Famous Cactus - The Prickly Pear

Arizona's Other Famous Cactus
- The Prickly Pear