The other day someone posted a picture of a prickly pear cactus on a foraging board on Facebook. It was something they saw while out foraging for morel mushrooms in Michigan.

The geek in me wanted to know more about the prickly pear cactus one day, so I thought I’d share with you what I discovered about Prickly Pear Cactus. 

There doesn’t seem to be one good book, or website out there dedicated just to the prickly pear cactus that grows in Michigan. Though the librarian did give me this list of books to check out, once the library opens of course.

• Wild flowers of the Midwest By Katherine Mackenzie
• Michigan Trees and Wildflowers by James Kavanagh
• Michigan Wildflowers by Harry Lund
• Wildflowers of Michigan field guide By Stan Tekiela

Being that there doesn’t seem to be a site online that lists much information about the prickly pear cactus, I decided to just list all the facts I could find about the native species to Michigan for those that want to know more.

Here’s what I found about the Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia fragilis)

• The cactus seems to grow yellow, and sometimes melon colored flowers in early summer.
• Prickly pear cactus seems to prefer well drained, sandy soil.
• Three parts of the cactus are edible, the pads, flower, and fruit.
• There is some evidence (from minimal studies) that the cactus can aid in diabetes, digestive issues, wounds, etc. Much further evidence needs to be done to prove that this is true.
• Fruiting seems to be more prolific in the driest of summers.
• This particular breed of cactus grows in Zone 2-10.
• Prefers full sun.
• Fruit doesn’t usually grow on plants younger than 3 years old.
• The flowers only last for one day.
• Said to be an extremely, almost dead like, plant in the winter.
• Seems to hate fertilizer.
• Propagates easily.

If you’re here for the free Prickly Pear Cactus embroidery pattern, all you have to do is subscribe to my blog and I’ll send you the PDF right after you confirm your email address.

Click here to subscribe

Here are the colors that I used in my pattern:

• DMC 520
• DMC 3721
• DMC 841

I usually choose normal colors, but if you make this with other colors, I’d love to see what you create. Please drop me a line or tag me on Instagram if you feel like showing off your work.

As always, my patterns are free, but I ask that you not share them with others. Instead, please direct them to this post so they can get their own copy.

 “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”

 

Here is another cactus pattern if you’re interested: Click Here