Rare glochidless no prickly form, gentle to the touch. This touch friendly plant may be cultivated without any special care, and makes beautiful pot specimens. Distinctive and rare.

Family: Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Scientific Name: Opuntia microdasys(Lehmann) Pfeiffer
cv. Caress

Origin:  Garden origin (Nursery produced cultivar perhaps of hybrid origin)

Conservation status: Listed in CITES appendix 2.

Common Names include: Bunny Ears, Polka Dot Cactus

Synonyms:  

• Cactus microdasys
• Opuntia macrocalyx

Rare glochidless no prickly form, gentle to the touch. 

Description: Freely clustering succulent with small pads. It forms a dense shrub, to 40-60 (occasionally more) cm high, up to 1.5 m across. This plant may be of hybrid origin.
Cladodes: 7.5-15 cm long by half as wide, grass-green to greys-green as they ages.
Areoles: Round, small with brown felt, often with the minuscle remnants of dried leaves.
Leaves: Green tinged reddish, inconspicuous, very small 1-2 long and ephemeral (very short living).
Spines: It has no spines and no glochids.
Flowers: Pale lemon yellow translucent, 3-5 cm in diameter followed by red fruits.

Cultivation: They are easy to culture. Require full sun to partial shade with a well-drained soil mix. The plants are watered and allowed to dry thoroughly before watering again. During the winter months, the plants enjoy a cold place where the temperature is dropped to 5/10° C, but hardy to -5° C for short periods of time if very dry. During this period water only enough to keep the pads from shrivelling.

Propagation: Cuttings taken at any time in the growing season. Remove a pad from the plant and then leave it in a dry sunny place for a couple of days to ensure that the base is thoroughly dry and has begun to callous. Pot up into a porous compost. Very easy, rooting within a month.