Can you tell what this is?
Need a hint?
I photographed it last week in a recently-burned sand prairie along the Platte River in Nebraska.
Think you know? Read on to find out.
This is a photo of a prickly pear cactus pad a month or so after a prescribed fire. Typically, fire topkills cacti in our prairies, but they survive and regrow. In fact, below this burned and discolored pad, there was a tiny little new pad starting to emerge from the ground.
Have a great weekend!
The Prairie Ecologist 
Yep, I guessed it, because I have prickly pears in my cactus garden and have had hands full of glochids many times. Neat photo; you could submit it to a company that designs wallpaper. Heh heh.
Thanks Chris for the great photo, question, and life history note.
I, too, guessed correctly, maybe because I lived in TX for over 25 years. Only recently have I learned to describe the burning of above ground plants is described as a top kill. Always love the photographs and text.