Photo Details
1. April 16, 2005 - Southwest
Desert - 2. May 16, 2005 - Grand County, Utah - ©Nicky Davis
Characteristics
Flowers
from April to June on stony slopes and gravelly washes in
elevations between 5,000 and 6,100 feet. The 2 inch flowers have
a waxy sheen. The fruit is fleshy
and many seeded.
Plains
prickly-pear is an important seasonal food of the black-tailed prairie
dog, composing up to 58% of its winter diet . Pronghorn rely on plains
prickly-pear notably after fire. Fires burn the spines off
the plants, providing a source of preferred forage. Other animals that
eat Prickly-pear are northern pocket gopher, bushy-tailed woodrat,
Nuttall cottontail , black-tailed jackrabbit, white-tailed jackrabbit,
desert cottontail, least chipmunk, bison , white-tailed deer, collared
peccary. Native
Americans ate plains
prickly-pear fruit raw, dried, or cooked. Fruit was piled on the ground
and stirred with branches, rolled or singed with hot coals to remove
spines, then split and dried in the sun. The flesh of plains
prickly-pear was used as a binding agent in garment and weapon making.
Ripe fruits were used for dye
Back to Top |
|