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Opuntia ficus-indica
Also called Indian Fig, Tuna Cactus, Prickly Pear, Sweet Prickly Pear, Indian Fig Prickly Pear, Sweet Pickle, Mission Cactus
Barbary fig is a large, spiny, succulent cactus shrub grown across arid regions mainly for its sweet fruit (tunas) and the young stem pads called nopales. It needs full sun and very well-drained soil, and watering is kept sparse.
Opuntia ficus-indica, the Indian fig opuntia, fig opuntia, or prickly pear, is a species of cactus that has long been a domesticated crop plant grown in agricultural economies throughout arid and semiarid parts of the world. O. ficus-indica is the most widespread and most commercially important cactus. It is grown primarily as a fruit crop, and also for the vegetable nopales and other uses. Cacti are good crops for dry areas because they efficiently convert water into biomass. O. ficus-indica is the most widespread of the long-domesticated cactuses. Opuntia species hybridize easily, but the wild origin of O. ficus-indica is likely to have been in central Mexico, where its closest genetic relatives are found.
Chenille pricklypear · Cochineal nopal cactus · Erect pricklypear · Cactus apple · Opuntia huajuapensis · Devil's-tongue · Opuntia lagunae · Coastal pricklypear · Purple pricklypear · Twistspine pricklypear · Opuntia matudae · Angel's-wings
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Opuntia ficus-indica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
