Coming from a region where cacti are just potted plants to be kept inside, it was unusual to see cacti growing naturally outside and this particular cactus can grow up to 5-7 feet. Texas prickly pear is under Opuntia genus and there are about dozen species of prickly pear cacti, and they can be found in the Southwest because of its dry soil. More information on prickly pear cactus can be found here.
Even though there are immature pears growing right now, this cactus blooms yellow/orange flowers and eventually, purple pears when they matures. Prickly pears are important food for animals; bees, birds and even humans, pears can be roasted, preserved, or processed as syrup. Prickly pear cactus can be used in many different ways, no wonder why it is Texas state plant.
My iNaturalist observation can be found here.
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