This plant was purchased in September, 1995, at the Michigan Cactus and Succulent Society plant sale. It was supposed to be spineless, and it was for the first couple years. In 1998, we had a good summer for cacti, with little rain and lots of sunshine, and it started to grow spines. Then we had a severe drought in 1999, and the plant continued to grow that way. Cacti usually are more spiny, and all plants flower more, with more light and less water. This one has not flowered yet.

A friend of mine has a plant which looks just like this one, and he says that his is from Utah. I don't know where mine is from, other than just from someone in the cactus club. I also have four other collections of this one, and all are a little different, even to an amateur like me.

The brittle prickly pear has a very wide range, across southern Canada, including Ontario, all of the western United States from Texas to North Dakota and westward, and one population in Michigan's Upper Penninsula. Possibly in MN, WI, IA, MO?

Click here or on the picture above to read how I grow this plant.