~Ripening Prickly Pear Fruit~

~Opuntia phaecantha major disacta~



Each of these fruit grow from the base of a beautiful yellow flower.
They bloom at various times, so the fruit ripens at different times.
Green is unripen fruit, moving up to the deep purple very ripe fruit.
Because of the sharp spines, their mostly consumed by birds.
But also squirrels, wood rats, deer, and wild pigs feed off them.
We humans also harvest them for jams, salsas, and desserts.
The main nuisance is not the long spines, but the little red hairs.
They will stick in your skin, can't see them, and are hard to remove.
But don't worry, they're only native to Mexico and the Southwest US.


Thanks for dropping in to see what's up.