States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaFloridaVirginia
Menu

Texas Prickly-pear

Opuntia lindheimeri

Found in roadsides, fields and disturbed ground; Coastal dunes and beaches. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

—
Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 53%

Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist

At a glance

Bloom
May to June

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 4 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Opuntia

  • Dicymolomia julianalisJulia's Dicymolomia
  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
  • Laetilia coccidivoraScale-Feeding Snout
  • Melitara prodenialisEastern Cactus-Boring Moth, Eastern Blue Cactus Borer
  • Eurythmia hospitella
  • Menesta tortriciformella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
5Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Opuntia

  • Diadasia australis
  • Diadasia piercei
  • Lithurgopsis gibbosa
  • Lithurgopsis littoralis
  • Macrotera texana
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Opuntia

  • Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
  • Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
  • Leptotila verreauxiWhite-tipped Dove
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cactaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Opuntia engelmannii; Texas Prickly pear

Conservation status

Alabama rankNot available
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources