It is a shrubby, erect plant, extending lengthwise to somewhat upright and reach heights of growth up to 2 m (6.6 ft) in height, producing lemon yellow flowers in the spring and summer, followed by purplish-red fruits.
It is quick to colonize hot, open environments with sandy soils.
The bald, flattened, ovate to inverted egg-shaped, tapered at the base shoot sections are blue-green.
They are 10 to 25 inches long and 6 to 25 inches wide.
The brownish areoles are far apart  leaving most of the epidermis, with often one or more yellowish spines, at least near the edges and towards the apex.
They carry striking, yellow glochids that are 2 to 6 millimeters long.
The 1 to 5 awl-shaped spur is flattened, provided with a light barb at the top thorns are yellow.
They are perpendicular to the surface of the shoots and are 0.5 to 5 inches long.

The yellow to yellowish orange flowers, which are solitary, formed by numerous membranous parts, reach a length of 5 to 6 inches and a diameter of 4 to 6 inches.
The flowers are ephemeral and melliferous.
The purple-red, smooth fruits are inverted-egg-shaped and tapered at the base.
They are 2.5 to 3.5 inches long and covered with plenty of glochids and are more or less pyriform, always purple in color, 4 to 6 centimeters in length and contain from 60 to 180 seeds (which may remain viable for more than 10 years), yellow to light brown, incorporated into the fruit pulp.
As fruits are appreciated by birds and mammals, their seeds are dispersed by animals.
The mucilage inside the leaves is used to treat burns and abscesses.
It is edible in the same way as fruits.
It is a shrubby, erect plant, extending lengthwise to somewhat upright and reach heights of growth up to 2 m (6.6 ft) in height, producing lemon yellow flowers in the spring and summer, followed by purplish-red fruits. It is quick to colonize hot, open environments with sandy soils. The bald, flattened, ovate to inverted egg-shaped, tapered at the base shoot sections are blue-green. They are 10 to 25 inches long and 6 to 25 inches wide. The brownish areoles are far apart  leaving most of the epidermis, with often one or more yellowish spines, at least near the edges and towards the apex. They carry striking, yellow glochids that are 2 to 6 millimeters long. The 1 to 5 awl-shaped spur is flattened, provided with a light barb at the top thorns are yellow. They are perpendicular to the surface of the shoots and are 0.5 to 5 inches long.
The yellow to yellowish orange flowers, which are solitary, formed by numerous membranous parts, reach a length of 5 to 6 inches and a diameter of 4 to 6 inches. The flowers are ephemeral and melliferous. The purple-red, smooth fruits are inverted-egg-shaped and tapered at the base. They are 2.5 to 3.5 inches long and covered with plenty of glochids and are more or less pyriform, always purple in color, 4 to 6 centimeters in length and contain from 60 to 180 seeds (which may remain viable for more than 10 years), yellow to light brown, incorporated into the fruit pulp. As fruits are appreciated by birds and mammals, their seeds are dispersed by animals. The mucilage inside the leaves is used to treat burns and abscesses. It is edible in the same way as fruits.
Opuntia stricta