Flower profile

Brittle pricklypear

Opuntia fragilis

Native in the lower 48

Brittle pricklypear is a flowering plant that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 3 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in May–July.

22states

3of our state lists

4,722U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

Quick look

Opuntia fragilis, known by the common names brittle pricklypear and little prickly pear, is a prickly pear cactus native to much of western North America.
From Wikipedia's article Opuntia fragilis, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Cactaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as a shrub with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 22 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
NatureServe lists it as native to Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. ^NatureServe
iNaturalist has 208 research-grade sightings of it in Nebraska, ranking #73 among the 108 flowers on our Nebraska list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 182 research-grade sightings of it in South Dakota, ranking #79 among the 108 flowers on our South Dakota list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 120 research-grade sightings of it in North Dakota, ranking #57 among the 109 flowers on our North Dakota list. ^iNaturalist

Brittle pricklypear gift ideas

Handmade brittle pricklypear gifts from independent makers.

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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (146 records)

Bloom time in each of our 3 states

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Nebraska	Native	few records	208
South Dakota	Native	few records	182
North Dakota	Native	few records	120

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
Nebraska: Not listed Not on Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Nebraska. ^{163 NAC 4-004}
South Dakota: No list South Dakota's endangered and threatened list (ARSD 41:10:02) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's South Dakota ranks for plants. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in South Dakota.
North Dakota: No list North Dakota has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's North Dakota ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in North Dakota.
Rare elsewhere: Other states where NatureServe ranks it rare or missing: CA (S1), IA (S1), IL (S1), MI (S1), OK (S1), WI (S2). (S1 critically imperiled, S2 imperiled, SH possibly extirpated, SX presumed extirpated.)

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNon-toxic to dogs, cats and horses

ASPCA's entry “Tree Cactus” (Opuntia species), which covers the whole genus, lists it as non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses. Eating lots of any plant can still upset a pet's stomach. ^ASPCA

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records brittle pricklypear in 22 states.

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recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Nebraska counties with USDA records: Blaine, Box Butte, Brown, Buffalo, Cherry, Cheyenne, Dawes, Deuel, Dundy, Furnas, Lincoln, Logan, Red Willow, Sheridan.

South Dakota counties with USDA records: Charles Mix, Custer, Fall River, Hanson, Minnehaha, Pennington, Sanborn, Stanley, Tripp.

North Dakota counties with USDA records: Barnes, Billings, Bowman, Burke, Burleigh, Divide, Emmons, Griggs, McHenry, Mountrail, Pierce, Slope, Stark, Williams.

More Nebraska flowers

Plains pricklypear

Opuntia polyacantha

Native

🌼 Few flowering records in NE

Spinystar

Escobaria vivipara

Native

🌼 Few flowering records in NE

Prairie pricklypear

Opuntia macrorhiza

Native

🌼 Few flowering records in NE

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile OPFR.
iNaturalist, Opuntia fragilis: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Opuntia fragilis (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Nebraska: Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004).
Nebraska: Nebraska noxious weeds (25 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 10, § 001.02).
South Dakota: South Dakota statewide noxious weeds (ARSD 12:62:03:01.06).
North Dakota: North Dakota state noxious weeds (N.D. Admin. Code 7-06-01-02), as listed by the ND Department of Agriculture.
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Opuntia fragilis (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: ASPCA.
Photo: Robbie Hannawacker via iNaturalist · CC0 · resized.