10 minute read
Singing the Praises of Pricklypear
Article by STEVE NELLE
Pricklypear cactus is undoubtedly one of the most wellknown plants in Texas. Whether hunter, hiker, nature lover or old-time cowboy, nearly everyone is familiar with pricklypear.
There are about 20 different species of pricklypear in Texas, but since it can be hard to tell one kind from another and since they hybridize, most landowners just lump them all together and call the plant “pear.” The two main forms are the tall upright types and the low prostrate types called “running pear.”
Opinions about pricklypear are as heated as today’s political debates. Some hate it; some tolerate it in a moderate amount; and, some see it as a desirable plant with many virtues.
For wildlife managers, its values are clear. American Wildlife and Plants, published in 1951 is still considered the bible for general wildlife food habit information. The authors state that pricklypear species “are outstandingly important wildlife food plants.” In addition to its food value, there are many other benefits to this well-known plant.
NURSE PLANT
One of the most significant benefits of pricklypear is the protection it affords to many other plants that may not survive otherwise. Not only does pear provide physical protection from grazing and browsing, but it also provides shade and windbreak for young plants that aids in their establishment.
Nurserymen use a lath house to protect young plants from harsh sun and provide a cooler more favorable environment. Pricklypear does the same thing on millions of acres. It is not uncommon to see preferred grasses, desirable forbs and palatable browse species growing up out of a pricklypear clump and for these same plants to be absent or rare outside of the pricklypear's protection.. As you walk in the pasture this summer, note the plants that exist in the protection of pricklypear.
POLLINATOR INSECTS
Today there is high interest in managing land for the benefit of native pollinator insects. This heightened awareness is due to recent high-profile population declines in European honey bees which pollinate many important crops.
Pricklypear provides a windfall of pollen and nectar for many species of native pollinating bees, beetles and butterflies that are attracted to the flowers in large numbers. Peer into the flowers and you will see the jungle of stamens wiggling around due to the activity of insects deep inside the flower. Unlike many traditional wildflowers, pricklypear makes a reliable and abundant crop of flowers each year, even in the most severe drought.
QUAIL
Dr. Dale Rollins has sung the praises of pricklypear as loudly as anyone, heralding its value as nest cover for quail. Every year, he teaches Bobwhite Brigade cadets the following marching cadence as part of their summer camp quail education:
In a study near San Angelo, researchers found that 60 percent of bobwhite and blue quail nests were in or immediately adjacent to pricklypear.
“Even in the presence of excellent bunchgrass cover, quail may select pricklypear nesting locations,” said Becky Ruzicka, Research Associate with the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch. “Nesting in prickly pear offers mechanical protection in the form of cactus spines and may give the birds a slightly higher nest success rate compared to bunchgrass nests.”
She described the typical pricklypear nest site as a dense patch the size of a hula hoop and at least 18 inches tall.
Val Lehmann, the late and renowned King Ranch quail biologist describes another benefit of pear that may merit greater appreciation. He said that ripe pear tunas and other sweet fruits are a prime buffer food for coyotes in early summer and that this reduces nest depredation and contributes to greater quail nesting success.
Many have noted summer quail with purple heads as a result of pecking the ripe fruit. Whether they are seeking the moisture, the seed or the sweet pulp, quail and other birds make significant use of pear apples.
DEER
It would seem intuitive that deer might only eat pricklypear pads when other better foods are not available, but this is not the case. One study in South Texas showed that pricklypear was the single most important plant in the deer diet—eaten in three times greater amount than any other plant.
In this study, pads and fruit made up over 20 percent of the yearlong diet. In a year’s time, these deer would each have eaten over 1,200 pounds of fresh pricklypear.
Dr. David Hewitt and his colleagues at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute have since conducted the most comprehensive work to date on whitetailed deer food habits. Hewitt said that “pricklypear fruits are exceedingly important in the summer” when they comprise 40-70 percent of the diet. Their studies show that pads are eaten mostly during winter and contribute 10-25 percent of the diet.
In the Rolling Plains and Edwards Plateau, pricklypear pads are not typically eaten in such large quantities, but the ripe fruit is extremely important in summer when most deer pellets examined contain pricklypear seed.
Pricklypear pads and fruit contain relatively high levels of energy but provide an insufficient level of protein for big game and livestock. Mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and some exotics also use pear but usually to a lesser extent than whitetails. During drought or when other water sources become unavailable, deer and other big game can derive their water needs from the consumption of pricklypear if necessary.
OTHER BENEFITS
Rodents, rabbits, reptiles and songbirds of many types utilize pricklypear for food, protection, nesting sites or water. You may not get too excited about rodents and lizards, but they play an important role in the overall ecology and food chains of many other species. Everything is connected.
There is some evidence that pear helps create improved soil conditions, but this has not been confirmed or quantified in Texas. Pricklypear has been used to help heal gullies and eroded areas with its ability to root from the pads no matter what time of year even in drought. The rooted plants slow down the water, trap and build sediment and provide protective niches for grass to establish. It is indeed a plant with many virtues.
LIVESTOCK FORAGE
In a bygone era when labor and fuel were cheap, burning of pricklypear was a common practice. In a 1915 article in the Journal of Agricultural Research, scientists found that pricklypear was a very suitable ration for dairy cows when fed 110 pounds per day plus two pounds of cottonseed meal. Milk production was high and animal health was good, and the authors stated that pear could be burned for 50 cents per ton.
PLANTS PROTECTED BY CACTUS photos by Steve Nelle
Winecup
Boneset
Indiangrass
Morning glory
Greenbriar
Copperleaf
Cupgrass
Bristlegrass
Sagewort
Today, livestock still eat pricklypear, both the pads and the fruit, and they eat it voluntarily in modest amounts even when other forage is available. But if livestock are eating a large amount of unburned pear pads, it is usually a signal that something is amiss for both the livestock and the health of the range.
Burning pear is still practiced to some extent. These days it is not considered to be economically or ecologically sustainable.
BALANCE AND MODERATION
If you are frustrated with too much pricklypear, think about management and reduction rather than control or eradication. I recall a sad story from a ranch in the Rolling Plains. The new owner acquired the 5,000-acre ranch for hunting, but they also ran cattle. The ranch provided good habitat and had a good population of quail, turkey and deer. The owner was concerned about the excessive amount of pricklypear and was advised to aerial spray with Tordon (picloram).
A year later while conducting a helicopter deer survey, pilot Mackey McEntire and I both noted that almost all of the sumac, hackberry and wolfberry was dead across the entire ranch. These were three of the most important wildlife plants on the ranch and are all very susceptible to Tordon. The landowner got rid of his pear, but the side effects for wildlife were significant and long lasting.
The lesson that can be learned is to consider the side effects beforehand and plan accordingly. Pear reduction can be done with prescribed fire, herbicides, mechanical means or a combination of these.
A modest amount of pear can still provide a lot of beneficial value for wildlife. Picture a clump of pear 10 feet in diameter. If these clumps are 50 feet apart, there would be 17 clumps per acre, yet covering only 3 percent of the landscape. Wildlife friendly brush management requires forethought, planning, restraint and compromise.
CACTUS MOTH IN TEXAS
While there is still plenty of pear across much of the state, a new and potentially devastating enemy of pricklypear has now made its way to Texas. The South American cactus moth Castoblastis cactorum has left a wake of dead and diminished pricklypear in many other places.
Native to Argentina, the small gray moth lays its eggs on pricklypear and the caterpillars bore into the pad eating it from the inside. The caterpillars, with voracious appetites quickly consume the pads; the moth can produce three generations each year.
Many years ago, the moth was intentionally introduced to Australia where it decimated 9 million square miles of dense cactus in only six years. Since then, the moth has been released in other places where it wiped out pricklypear populations. The moth was introduced to the Caribbean Islands in 1957, made its way to Florida in 1989, and has since been found in seven Gulf Coast states.
In Texas, the moth was discovered in Brazoria County in 2017. Researchers from the University of Texas Brackenridge Field Laboratory (BFL) initiated a monitoring program in 2019 and the moth has now been confirmed in Colorado, Chambers, Matagorda and Aransas counties. The scientists have found that entire areas of pricklypear “just melted away” due to the moth. Ecologists and wildlife biologists are concerned that the moth will move inland into South Texas, Mexico and beyond where it may have dramatic ecological and economic impacts.
The BFL research team and Argentinian colleagues have been working together to study a host-specific parasitic wasp also from Argentina that will control the moth. These tiny wasps, once approved for release, will need to be mass-reared and released in the field to hopefully slow or halt the spread of the moth in Texas. Adequate funding is one of the main obstacles for the continuation of this important biocontrol project.
SYMBOL OF TEXAS
Pricklypear was designated the State Plant in 1995 with the following declaration: “Whereas, rugged, versatile and uniquely beautiful, the prickly pear cactus has made numerous contributions to the landscape, cuisine and character of the Lone Star State, and thus it is singularly qualified to represent the indomitable and proud Texas spirit as an official state symbol. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby designate the prickly pear cactus as the official state plant of Texas.”
The benefits of pricklypear are easy to enumerate. Wildlife consumes the pads, flowers, fruit and roots, and insects by the millions feed on the pollen and nectar and suck the juices from pads. Pricklypear clumps are used as protection for many species ranging from rodents and reptiles to big game and to birds of many kinds.
Not everyone loves it and, and yes, it is easy to get too much, but all can appreciate the value that this plant adds to the wildlife richness of Texas. What other plant can you think of that promotes increased plant diversity, provides food, cover or water for so many species, not to mention tender nopalitos, good jelly and colorful flowers for our enjoyment. Go ahead, sing the praises of pricklypear.
Photo by Steve Nelle
