We saw lots of these kinds of Opuntia growing around the Tucson area. I think they were all planted as ornamental plants, because I'm not sure we saw any growing in wild areas. They are very beautiful and it is easy to see why so many people would plant these in their yards, and lots of business places had them too. There were some growing in front of the '8' we were staying at in Benson. I asked the employees if we could take a few pads to root, and they said lots of people ask for them. We have 3 pads sitting in a pot full of gravel outside and we are waiting for them to grow roots. This photo is of one in bloom, but not the same plant we are trying to root.