Spines of these stems are only slightly barbed. The fruits are dry at maturity and are covered with barbed spines.
Fruits develop on stem lobes.
The most fruit is produced on stem branches that are 6 to 8 years old. Plains prickly-pear has a shallow, laterally extensive root system that takes advantage of rainfall as scant as 2.5 mm. Its high water retention capability in aboveground tissues allows it to survive drought. Plains prickly-pear reproduces by seeds, layering, and sprouting from segments mechanically separated from the parent plant. Root sprouting has been documented in diploid populations of Opuntia polyacantha var.