Opuntia oricola Opuntia oricola Opuntia oricola is a species of prickly pear cactus known by the common name chaparral prickly pear. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in coastal sage scrub and chaparral habitats. "Opuntia oricola" is a large treelike cactus often exceeding 2 meters in height. The branches are made up of rounded flat segments up to 25 centimeters long. It is covered in clusters of curved, yellowish spines usually around 2 centimeters long. The flowers are yellow, sometimes orange-tinged. The spherical fruit is purplish red on the outside, whitish and juicy inside, and up
Opuntia engelmannii (state) to the Tamaulipan matorral in Chihuahua (state), in Mexico. In the Sonoran Desert, terminal pads face predominantly east-west, so as to maximize the absorption of solar radiation during summer rains. Although found occasionally in the Mojave Desert, it tends to be replaced by "Opuntia basilaris", which does not need the summer rain. The overall form of "Opuntia engelmannii" is generally shrubby, with dense clumps up to high, usually with no apparent trunk. The pads are green (rarely blue-green), obovate to round, about 15–30 cm long and 12–20 cm wide. The glochids are yellow initially, then brown with age. Spines