Opuntia, commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Cacti are native to the Americas, and are well adapted to arid climates; however, they are still vulnerable to alterations in precipitation and temperature driven by climate change. The plant has been introduced to parts of Australia, southern Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa.
Prickly pear alone is more commonly used to refer exclusively to the fruit, but may also be used for the plant itself; in addition, other names given to the plant and its specific parts include tuna (fruit), sabra, sabbar, nopal (pads, plural nopales) from the Nahuatl word nΕpalli, nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word nΕchtli, and paddle cactus. The genus is named for the Ancient Greek city of Opus. The fruit and leaves are edible. The most common culinary species is the "Barbary fig"
Opuntia is regarded as an aggressive invasive species.
Distribution
Like most true cactus species, prickly pears are native only to the Americas. Through human action, they have since been introduced to many other areas of the world. Prickly pear species are found in abundance in Mexico, especially in the central and western regions, and in the Caribbean islands (West Indies). In the United States, prickly pears are native to many areas of the arid, semi-arid, and drought-prone Western and South Central United States, including the lower elevations of the Rocky Mountains and southern Great Plains
Opuntia species are the most cold-tolerant of the lowland cacti, extending into western and southern Canada.
Prickly pears produce a fruit known as tuna, commonly eaten in Mexico and in the Mediterranean region, which is also used to make aguas frescas.
Prickly pear fruit for sale at a market, Zacatecas, Mexico
- π»Link to all Hexbear comms https://hexbear.net/post/1403966
- π Come listen to music and Watch movies with your fellow Hexbears nerd, in Cy.tube](https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies
- π₯ Read and talk about a current topics in the News Megathread https://hexbear.net/post/5200244
- β Come talk in the New Weekly PoC thread https://hexbear.net/post/5195185
- β¨ Talk with fellow Trans comrades in the New Weekly Trans thread https://hexbear.net/post/5197809
- π New Weekly Improvement thread https://hexbear.net/post/5189599
- 𧑠Disabled comm megathread https://hexbear.net/post/5075301
- Parenting Chat https://hexbear.net/post/5186781
reminders:
- π You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
- π Hexbearβs algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
- π Sorting by new you nerd
- π If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can reserve a spot here nerd
- πΆ Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog
Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):
Aid:
Theory:
- β€οΈFoundations of Leninism
- β€οΈAnarchism and Other Essays
