Prickly pear, also called nopal or Indian fig, is a type of cactus with prickly fruits that are shaped somewhat like a pear or fig. Many species of prickly pears grow in dry parts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. They can stand long periods with little water, but they grow better with moderate rainfall, as in parts of Florida, southern Brazil, and northern Argentina.
The stem of the prickly pear consists of a series of flat, leaflike segments called joints. The flowers and fruit grow on the edges of the joints. In Mexico and Central America, the edible kinds are called tuna. The fruits are common in markets throughout Latin America. Luther Burbank developed spineless varieties, which are raised as food for people and livestock.
Prickly pears have been introduced into Mediterranean countries, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, the Canary Islands, and Madagascar. The chief reason for their widespread cultivation is their food value and, formerly, their use in the cochineal dye industry. The cochineal insect, which gives a red dye, feeds on prickly pears.
One species of prickly pear was brought to Australia in 1788 for a cochineal dye industry that was never established. Later, two other species were brought there as curiosities. From 1900 to 1925, they spread so quickly that they made about 30 million acres (12 million hectares) useless for crops or grazing. The Australian government then brought in an Argentine moth, Cactoblastis cactorum. Its larvae live in the joints and destroy them. Within seven years, the heavy growth of prickly pears had been almost destroyed.
