page_title: Opuntia macrocentra
section_title: Distribution
hierarchical_section_title: Opuntia macrocentra / Distribution
caption_attribution_description: English: Distribution map of Opuntia macrocentra (purple prickly pear cactus) — in the lower Southwestern United States.
context_page_description: Opuntia macrocentra, the long-spined purplish prickly pear or purple pricklypear, is a cactus found in the lower Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. A member of the prickly pear genus, this species of Opuntia is most notable as one of a few cacti that produce a purple pigmentation in the stem. Other common names for this plant include black-spined pricklypear, long-spine prickly pear, purple pricklypear, and redeye prickly pear.
  Opuntia macrocentra is an upright spreading shrub consisting of several joined segments called pads. This cactus produces large colorful yellow and red blooms and dark red edible fruits.
context_section_description: Native populations of Opuntia macrocentra are found in Arizona, New Mexico, Southwestern Texas, and Northwestern Mexico.
  This cacti is a slow growing perennial that inhabits a wide range of soil substrates and habitat types.  It can be found below the elevation of 5000 ft in areas of sandy desert flats, rocky hills, or valley grasslands.
caption: Distribution of Opuntia macrocentra in the United States.
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