Mottled prickly pear cactus pad

Click for greater clarity.

Walking in the nature preserve called St. Edward’s Park in my part of Austin yesterday morning, I encountered a group of prickly pear cacti, Opuntia engelmannii, some of whose pads had taken on the mottled look that characterizes stress or approaching death. The long diagonal shadows of the cactus spines contrasted with the rounded splotches on the surface of the pads and added to the overall pattern.

© 2011 Steven Schwartzman

(Look here for information about Opuntia engelmannii, including a clickable map showing where the species grows.)