In A Friend's Garden
I don't have an ID for this opuntia. We used to call any cactus that looked like this a Beaver-Tail, but that doesn't tell you much. It's always a beautiful plant, but it is particularly so when blooming, and when setting fruit.
Thanks for commenters identifying this cactus as Opuntia Microdasys Albispina.
Knowing the species, I looked it up in Wikipedia, and found this interesting tidbit: "Native to Mexico, naturalised in Kenya, Malawi, and Tanzania.[5] One reason for the success of O. microdasys in desert habitats - at home and as an introduction - is its efficient fog collection ability. The spines and hairs have the perfect structure and microstructure to capture and channel fog.[6]."
In A Friend's Garden
I don't have an ID for this opuntia. We used to call any cactus that looked like this a Beaver-Tail, but that doesn't tell you much. It's always a beautiful plant, but it is particularly so when blooming, and when setting fruit.
Thanks for commenters identifying this cactus as Opuntia Microdasys Albispina.
Knowing the species, I looked it up in Wikipedia, and found this interesting tidbit: "Native to Mexico, naturalised in Kenya, Malawi, and Tanzania.[5] One reason for the success of O. microdasys in desert habitats - at home and as an introduction - is its efficient fog collection ability. The spines and hairs have the perfect structure and microstructure to capture and channel fog.[6]."