The prickly pear cactus is probably the most identifiable plant (besides the saguaro) in the Sonoran Desert. The species most often seen in the wild here is Engelmann prickly pear, or Opuntia ...

News flash: If you’re new to succulents, beware the prickly pear. It is the one cactus that strikes fear into every desert gardener, and now the drought has made these cactuses available far and wide.

Cactus as far as the eye could see. That was the result in Australia after agriculturists introduced several species of Opuntia cactus — collectively called prickly pears — to farmland. Ranchers hoped ...