Shrub · Cactaceae
Plains pricklypear
Opuntia polyacantha · includes its varieties and subspecies
Plains pricklypear is recorded as native to 14 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 232 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Key facts · USDA PLANTS
Plains pricklypear at a glance
- Native in
- 232 counties, across 14 states and territories
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 4b PLANTS minimum temperature −28°F
- Mature height
- 2 ft PLANTS mature height
- Light and water
- Full sun (shade-intolerant) Low water use
Estimated cold hardiness: zone 4b. PLANTS gives a minimum temperature of −28°F; zone 4b winters bottom out at −25°F, the coldest half-zone that stays within that limit.
Plains pricklypear is recorded as native to 14 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 232 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Counties where it is native
The 15 counties with the most ZIP codes among the 232 where it is listed.
Native counties by state
- Arizona 5 counties
- Colorado 36 counties
- Idaho 18 counties
- Kansas 10 counties
- Montana 26 counties
- Nebraska 7 counties
- Nevada 15 counties
- New Mexico 30 counties
- North Dakota 18 counties
- Oklahoma 1 county
- South Dakota 6 counties
- Texas 10 counties
- Utah 29 counties
- Wyoming 21 counties
Growing traits
Values from the PLANTS characteristics record. “Not recorded” means PLANTS has no value; nothing here is estimated except the zone.
Growth
- Growth habit
- Shrub
- Duration
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 2 ft
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth form
- Stoloniferous
- Shape
- Decumbent
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Active growth period
- Spring, Summer, Fall
Light and water
- Shade tolerance
- Intolerant (full sun (shade-intolerant))
- Moisture use
- Low water use
- Drought tolerance
- High
- Tolerance of waterlogged soil
- None
- Precipitation range
- 10 to 20 in per year
Soil
- Soil textures
- Coarse, medium and fine
- pH range
- 7 to 8.8
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- High
- Salinity tolerance
- None
- Fertility requirement
- Low
- Minimum root depth
- 12 in
Climate
- Minimum temperature
- −28°F
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 4b and warmer
- Minimum frost-free days
- 200
- Fire tolerance
- None
Flowers, leaves and fruit
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Showy flowers
- Yes
- Bloom period
- Late Spring
- Foliage color
- Green
- Showy in fall
- No
- Keeps leaves
- Yes
- Fruit color
- Red
Other
- Toxicity
- None
- Nitrogen fixation
- None
- Nursery availability
- Contracting Only
- Family
- Cactaceae
- PLANTS symbol
- OPPO
Source & data date
- Source
- USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: county distribution records, native status and plant characteristics. CC0 (public domain dedication, per the data.gov catalog record).
- Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP): native or introduced status by state. CC BY 3.0.
- USGS US-RIIS (ver. 2.0): species listed as introduced are excluded. CC0.
- Citation
- USDA, NRCS. 2026. The PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov, 11/04/2026). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA.
- Govaerts R. (ed.) (2026). WCVP: World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Data file dated 2026-06-04, http://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/ (retrieved 2026-11-04). Paper: Govaerts R. et al. (2021) The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Scientific Data 8, 215.
- Data date
- Retrieved from PLANTS on November 4, 2026; WCVP data file dated June 4, 2026.
- Scope
- Opuntia polyacantha (PLANTS symbol OPPO), including 1 variety or subspecies folded into the species.
- Method
- A species is listed when it is recorded as native to the state in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in the county by USDA PLANTS. Species PLANTS labels both native and introduced are listed separately. Full method · All sources