Opuntia phaeacantha centers, and sometimes peach, pinkish or reddish overall. The edible fruits are red or purple with green flesh. The pads and fruit bear tiny glochids which can lodge in the skin and cause irritation. This plant, like other "Opuntia" species, is attacked by cactus moth. Older names for this species, and names for old species which are now considered variants of this species, include plateau prickly pear, brown-spined prickly-pear, Mojave prickly pear, and Kingman prickly pear. The species is widespread, from California to Texas to Colorado and New Mexico, and into Mexico. There are multiple variations and perhaps these will
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