I didn't want to be a plant snob. So I told myself I at least appreciated some merits of the homely cactus. The prickly pear, after all, is a role model for water conservation. The flowers are pretty ...

Question: I recently bought my first home in Santa Rosa. The backyard has a prickly pear cactus that’s about 6 feet tall. Since it’s the first time I’ve owned one, can you share information about it ...

The bright-pink fruit of the prickly-pear cactus adds a zing to this dish, inspired by the flora of Death Valley National Park.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Getty Images If you're looking to broaden your fruit horizons beyond the quotidien, consider the many ways to eat prickly pears.

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.

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Ever walked past a cactus with broad, flat, ovoid pads with colorful spiky balls growing from them? You just walked past a source of food.

The desert prickly-pear, known to botanists as Opuntia phaeacantha, is the Southwest's most widespread and abundant species of cactus. Unlike the giant saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) that is restricted ...

Phoenix in the summer: Hot and humid with evening storms and a chance of a haboob (major dust storms for those who haven’t heard). One thing is certain of Phoenix summers; it takes a little motivation ...

In parts of Texas, the prickly pear cactus is everywhere — potted outside coffee shops, dotting the side of the road, poking out of cracks in the sidewalk. It also lines the pathways of the University ...

Walnut Creek’s Ruth Bancroft is a national authority on drought-resistant gardening. Twice a month, she and her staff share their knowledge with readers. Q We have a large, old (probably about 40 ...

Back when I was in school, which for sure was a long time ago, I read a pulp magazine cowboy story that has stayed in my memory on account of prickly pear cactus. I don't remember the author of the ...

Learn how to propagate a prickly pear cactus in your own yard. Over the centuries–in the course of adapting to harsh soil and climatic conditions–prickly pears (Opuntia) have developed the ability to ...