Opuntia macrocentra Engelm.
Long-spined prickly pear, black spine prickly pear, purple pricklypear
The long-spined prickly pear is native to Texas, New Mexico, eastern Arizona, and northern Mexico. See this Opuntia comparison table.
Plants: Plants are 12–24″ (30–60 cm) tall. Stem segments (cladodes) ore obovate to orbicular, and 4–8″ (10–20 cm) in size. They are bluish green, and pads on more mature plants are tinged with purple. If plants are stressed by drought or cold, the purple coloration can be much stronger. Sometimes has no spines, or groups of up to 15. Spines are up to 7″ (17 cm) long! Longer spines are reddish brown to black (or rarely, yellow to red), turning whitish with age.
Flowers: 2–3 ⨉ 2–3″ (6–8 ⨉ 5.5–8 cm), yellow with bright red centers.
Fruits: Reddish fruit is oboviod, ovoid, or ellipsoid, 1–1½″ long ⨉ ½–1″ in diameter (3–4.3 ⨉ 1.5–3 cm), spineless, and deeply concave. The rind is purple and the juice and pulp are pale-purple to clear. Seeds are flattened, tan, ~⅛″ in diameter ⨉ 1/32–1/16″ thick (3.4–4.5 ⨉ 1.5–1.9 mm), with a broad notch on one side.
Habitats: Desert uplands, grasslands, rocky and sandy areas, at elevations below 5000′ (1.5 km).
Edibility: Fruits are edible.
By Jodelet/Lépinay. 
Online References:
References:
5/11/2014 · American Southwest (AZ or TX) · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
5/22/2009 · Slide Rock State Park, Sedona, Arizona · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
5/24/2009 · Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona · ≈ 3½ × 2½′ (108 × 74 cm) 
1/15/1996 · Living Desert, near Carlsbad Cav, New Mexico · By Constance B. Kent ID is uncertain 
5/25/2009 · Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, Arizona 
5/21/2009 · Grand Canyon South Rim, Arizona ID is uncertain 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Caryophyllidae | Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts |
| Order | Caryophyllales | Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants |
| Family | Cactaceae | Succulent (water-storing) plants, often spiny |
| Genus | Opuntia | Prickly pears |
| Species | macrocentra | From ancient Greek μακρός (makrós, “long”); and centra, “spine” |
Opuntia macrocentra description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.