If the novelty of a cactus native to Ohio doesn't immediately titillate you, take a look at the showy summer blooms of eastern prickly pear cactus. The large, satiny flowers glow among the green, fleshy cactus pads in early summer. They're usually yellow with bushy clumps of stamens that attract many species of bees and other pollinators, but east of the Appalachian Mountains and on sand dunes, the center is often red to orange. The pulpy, red fruits that ripen in August and September are often used to make candies and jams.
Eastern prickly pear is an easy cactus to grow in Ohio because of its tolerance of moisture, humidity, and cold winter weather. Due to special antifreeze chemicals in its cells, it can survive the freezing temperatures of the northern states and southern Canada. It also blooms more reliably than most cacti. It's ideal for dry, sunny areas with well-drained soils ranging from gravelly or sandy to loamy or clay, but the latter soils need to be very well drained to avoid root rot. It needs at least a half-day of full sun and will usually grow 6 to 14 inches tall, although in some regions it may grow as tall as 2 feet. It has a semi-erect, sprawling habit (humifusa means "prostrate or sprawling") that can form colonies via the spreading root system or pads that have fallen to the ground and re-rooted. In fact, it's very simple to help a few individuals expand into a colony--wait a few days for fallen pads to develop a callus, then push them into the soil.
The bluish-green pads, which are actually photosynthetic stems and water reservoirs, are dotted by diagonal rows of small, brownish areoles (air pores) that contain barbed hairs that cause skin irritation when touched. The pads are evergreen, although they often shrivel and turn yellow to conserve water during winter. In spring, there's an acceleration of growth as the pads quickly swell and produce flowers.
This species has an interesting adaption known as thigmotactic reaction to ensure pollination. The reaction is caused by bee activities, such as a bee brushing by an anther. Read more about this fascinating process in Ryan Pankau's article, "Prickly Pears Bloom for Pollinators" at https://tinyurl.com/58t68y56.
Eastern prickly pear, also known as devil's tongue, has the largest range of any cactus in the US and is found from New Mexico and Montana east to Florida and Massachusetts. It's the only cactus native to Ohio, where it's listed as rare. The greatest threats to the survival of this plant are the destruction of habitat by modern development and the invasion of its habitat by woody vegetation.
Native habitats include fencerows, roadsides, rocky glades, rock outcrops, cliffs, old quarries, the dunes of Lake Michigan and other areas with sandy slopes, sandy woodlands and cemeteries, and limestone glades. Use in rock gardens, stone walls, sandy slopes, and naturalized areas. Makes unique groundcover for dry areas.
Plant Characteristics:
Grows 6-20" tall and 12-18" wide.
Prefers full or at least half-day sun.
Prefers dry, sandy or gravelly soils. Adapts to well-drained average or loamy soils and to very well-drained clay.
Blooms for 3-4 weeks with diurnal (one-day) flowers in June and July. Greenish, oblongoid, 2" flower buds develop along upper curved margins of each pad. Each 2-3" flower has several tepals, numerous stamens, and an inferior ovary with a single style. The bases of inner tepals toward the center of each flower may be orange red. Stamen filaments are yellow to pale orange and anthers are yellow. Mature fruits are 1¼–2" long with several dark brown, flattened seeds in a fleshy interior.
Small green structures that are true leaves may be found with areoles at the tips of new or actively growing pads.
Pads (stems) are 2 - 7" long and 1.5 - 5" wide and jointed in a linear or branched fashion. Surface may be shiny or dull and hairless.
Root system is fibrous and spreading.
Wildlife Value:
Host plant for larvae of eastern cactus-boring moth, Julia's dicymolomia, and arge tiger moth and also for a few species of fly larvae. Supports several species of stink bug, which suck the juices from the pads and fruits. Both long-tongued and short-tongued bees visit the flowers, including bumble, large carpenter, digger, leafcutting, halictid, and plasterer. Long-tongued bees suck nectar or collect pollen, while short-tongued bees collect pollen only. Larger bees are more likely to cause cross-pollination.
Medicinal, Edible, and Other Uses:
Native Americans ate the fruits fresh, cooked, or dried for winter. They also roasted the pads as a vegetable.
Native Americans used the sap for medicinal applications.
Resources:
Bagley Pond Perennials: https://tinyurl.com/bdh2rhb4
Illinois Wildflowers: https://tinyurl.com/5n6fm7w4
Missouri Botanical Gardens: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=278416&isprofile=0&n=1
ODNR: https://tinyurl.com/2n7y8xrv
US Forest Service: https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/opuntia_humifusa.shtml