Opuntia monacantha (Drooping Prickly Pear)

Opuntia monacantha, commonly known as drooping prickly pear, cochineal prickly pear, or Barbary fig, is a species of plant in the cactus family Cactaceae native to South America.

The large cactus grows to about 4 m high, often with thick cylindric trunk, and as an epiphyte with a drooping habit on larger plants. Each stem segment grows to about 30 cm long, is flattened, egg-shaped (can be elongated), and attached at the pointy end. One or two spines emerging from holes in the segments. Yellow flowers up to 9 cm across with red tinges are produced on the margins of the stem segments. Fruits are 7.5 x 3.5 cm, fleshy and reddish purple.