academics
“It really opened up America to me. It was extraordinary for a junior college, any college, to provide that kind of education.” - Sociologist
Ai-Li Sung Chin '39
Opuntia engelmannii
Cactaceae
Height: 5'
Stem: Stems spread 15' in diameter. The pads are green to blue-green and oblong shaped. Pads grow up to 16" long, 9" wide. The spines are ash-grey, 3" long and can be flat, curved or straight. They also have tiny, barbed hairs known as glochids common to all prickly-pears and chollas.
Flowers/Fruit: In bloom April to June. The flower is bright yellow and 3 1/4" wide. It is found on the on the edge of the pad and contains many petals. The fruit is purplish-red and cylindrical 3" long.
Form/Habitat: Found in the sandy soils of the flats, valleys and hills of the grasslands and deserts from 1,500' to 7,500'. They range from southern California to western Texas.
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