Prickly pear's fast flowers--Everyday Botany

One of Virginia's native plants is the eastern prickly pear cactus (Opuntia humifusa). This plant has flowers that can move when touched!
The male parts of the flower are the stamens. These stamens produce pollen and move towards the center of the flower when they are touched. Research suggests that the stamens move to make insect pollinators work harder to move through the flower and be more likely to spread pollen to the female structure called the stigma.
A prickly pear flower mostly makes pollen when it is young so the stamens don't move as much in older flowers.

[@MattB8030]

Good GAWD, look how dense