An Opuntia prickly-pear cactus at Baldy Mountain in Washington State. I’m no expert on Opuntia, but I think this is probably Opuntia columbiana, the Columbia prickly-pear. We didn’t see many of these on our hike, but it was clear they were popular with the pollinators! In the top photo, you can see two bees, including a beautiful metallic green sweat bee, likely in the genus Agapostemon. The fruit and pads of Opuntia are edible, although challenging to process. The hairlike glochid prickles on the fruit are very tiny and can get painfully stuck in any skin they touch, similar to fiberglass shards. This particular species is still considered common, but another cactus species we found on the mountain, Pediocactus nigrispinus, is threatened by overcollection.Â
