Bunny Ears Cactus (Cactus of Metro Phoenix (April 2021 EcoQuest Guide))

Bunny Ears Cactus

Opuntia microdasys

Summary ¹¹

Opuntia microdasys (angel's-wings, bunny ears cactus, bunny cactus or polka-dot cactus) is a species of cactus native and endemic to central and northern Mexico.

Description ¹²

Opuntia microdasys forms a dense shrub 40–60 cm tall, occasionally more, composed of pad-like stems 6–15 cm long and 4–12 cm broad.

Instead of spines it has numerous white or yellow glochids 2–3 mm long in dense clusters. They are barbed and thinner than the finest human hairs, detaching in large numbers upon the slightest touch. If not removed they will cause considerable skin irritation so the plants must be treated with caution.

The Latin specific epithetmicrodasys means “small and hairy”.

The yellow flowers appear only rarely. Despite this, it is a very popular cactus in cultivation, partly because of the young plant’s comical resemblance to a rabbit’s head. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

Distribution ¹²

Native to Mexico, introduced in the United Kingdom, Kenya, Malawi, and Tanzania. One reason for the success of O. microdasys in desert habitats - at home and as an introduction - is its efficient fog collection ability. The spines and hairs have the perfect structure and microstructure to capture and channel fog.

Sources and Credits

(c) c michael hogan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by c michael hogan
(c) Eliseo D Moreno, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Eliseo D Moreno
(c) sergio niebla, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/22048801@N03/17389718835/
(c) Leonora (Ellie) Enking, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/33037982@N04/4802568263/
(c) Rebecca Marschall, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Rebecca Marschall
(c) Lies Van Rompaey, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/liesvanrompaey/49888653438/
(c) Lies Van Rompaey, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/liesvanrompaey/49889483632/
(c) Lies Van Rompaey, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/liesvanrompaey/49889491752/
(c) Katja Schulz, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/treegrow/26883109769/
(c) Nicola van Berkel, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Nicola van Berkel
Adapted by Jeny Davis from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia_microdasys
(c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia_microdasys

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