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Opuntia ficus-indica

Opuntia ficus-indica: Fruit
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Common name:	Prickly Pear	Family:	Cactaceae
Author:	(L.)Mill.	Botanical references:	89, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The plant has numerous minutely barbed glochids (hairs) that are easily dislodged when the plant is touched and they then become stuck to the skin where they are difficult to see and remove. They can cause considerable discomfort[200].
Range:	Original habitat is obscure.
Habitat:	Naturalized in the Mediterranean where it grows in dry arid and rocky places[89].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Cactus ficus-indica[B,G,P] O. compressa[B,P] O. ficus-indica var. gymnocarpa[G] O. megacantha[P] O. occidentalis[P] O. subarmata[P] O. vulgaris[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Figuier D'Inde [E], Hsien Jen Chang [E], Indian-fig [B], Nopal [E], Penca [E], Prickly Pear, Barbary Fig [MS], Pricklypear [E], Raquette [E], Tuna [E], Tuna Cactus [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	indica = Indian
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Cactus family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Argentina China Dr Ethiopia Haiti Mauritius Sicily South Africa Spain Us(Sc)
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmaina, Queensland, Northen Territory (Aust).

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 5m by 5m . It is hardy to zone 9 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, By Walls, By South Wall, By East Wall.

Edible Uses

Flowers Fruit Gum Leaves Seed.

Fruit - raw, cooked or dried for later use[3, 7, 20, 46, 61, 89]. Sweet and gelatinous[85]. Very refreshing, they are somewhat like a watermelon in flavour[183]. The fruits are up to 10cm long and 9cm wide[200]. Be careful of the plants irritant hairs, see the notes above on toxicity.
Pads - cooked and used like French beans[20, 183]. Watery and very mucilaginous[85].
Flowers - raw[20].
Seed - ground into a meal[20, 92].
An edible gum is obtained from the stem[64].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antispasmodic Diuretic Emollient.

The flowers and stems are antispasmodic, diuretic and emollient[7]. The split stems have been bound around injured limbs as a first aid measure[254].
The flowers are astringent and are used to reduce bleeding and treat problems of the gastro-intestinal tract, especially diarrhoea, colitis and irritable bowel syndrome[254]. The flowers are also used in the treatment of an enlarged prostate gland[254].

Other Uses

Gum.

A gum is obtained from the stem. It is used as a masticatory or mixed with oil to make candles[64]. The juice of the boiled stem segments is very sticky. It is added to plaster, whitewash etc to make it adhere better to walls[92].

Cultivation details

Requires a sandy or very well-drained soil[1, 3]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 to 7.5[200]. Plants must be kept fairly dry in the winter but they like a reasonable supply of water in the growing season. A position at the base of a south-facing wall or somewhere that can be protected from winter rain is best for this plant. Requires warmth and plenty of sun[3]. Plants tolerate considerable neglect[3].
Cultivated in many warm temperate and sub tropical areas for its edible fruits[89,183] and its use as a stock-proof barrier, it is not very cold-tolerant and is unlikely to survive the winter outdoors in Britain. There are some named varieties[183], one at least of which is free from spines and irritant hairs.

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a very well-drained compost in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first two winters. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Give the plants some protection from winter wet. Make sure you have some reserve plants in case those outdoors do not overwinter.
Cuttings of leaf pads at any time in the growing season. Remove a pad from the plant and then leave it in a dry sunny place for a couple of days to ensure that the base is thoroughly dry and has begun to callous. Pot up into a sandy compost. Very easy, rooting quickly.

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[3] Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles 1972 ISBN 0-7153-5531-7
A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[64] Howes. F. N. Vegetable Gums and Resins. Faber
A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[89] Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press 1987 ISBN 0-7012-0784-1
A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.

[92] Balls. E. K. Early Uses of Californian Plants. University of California Press 1975 ISBN 0-520-00072-2
A nice readable book.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

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