Flower. Photo: Don Wood, Carnarvon Station Bush Heritage Reserve, via Augathella, Qld

Flowers. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: RG & FJ Richardson, Eldorado, Vic

Flowering plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: RG & FJ Richardson, Eldorado, Vic

Fruit. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: RG & FJ Richardson, Eldorado, Vic

Fruiting plant. Photo: Mary Keim, Florida, USA

Common Name

Common Prickly-pear, Spiny Pest-pear, Smooth Pest-pear, Prickly Pear

Family

Cactaceae

Notes

Introduced bushy shrub-like perennial to 2m tall. Succulent stems (segments). Stem segments, bases of the flowers, and fruit have hooked bristles that irritate the skin, and the stem segments often have spines 1-5cm long as well. Leaves 0.3-0.6cm long, cylindrical or conical, shed early. Flowers yellow, often with pinkish to reddish markings on the outer 'petals'. Flowers with many 'petals', borne singly along the margins of the stem segments. Fruit reddish purple, edible if the bristles are removed. A weed of national significance. Noxious weed in all of NSW. Declared plant in SA. Noxious weed Vic.

Description and photo in GM Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales pages 503-504

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Opuntia~stricta

Weeds of Australia Biosecurity Queensland Edition description:  http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/03030800-0b07-490a-8d04-0605030c0f01/media/Html/Opuntia_stricta.htm