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 readily between species. This can make classification difficult, yielding a reticulate phylogeny where different species come together in hybridization. Also, not all species listed here may actually belong in this genus, meaning that "Opuntia" is not a monophyletic group. "Opuntia" also has a tendency for polyploidy. The ancestral diploid state was 2n=22, but many species are hexaploid (6n = 66) or octaploid (8n = 88). Chollas, now recognized to belong to the distinct genus "Cylindropuntia", are distinguished by having cylindrical, rather than flattened, stem segments with large barbed spines. The stem joints of several species, notably the jumping cholla ("Cylindropuntia