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Mission Prickly-Pear at Palomar College
© W.P. Armstrong September 2023   

During my 40 year teaching career at Palomar College I have taken numerous walks in the local hills of coastal sage scrub, past clumps of a large, naturalized prickly-pear cactus called Mission Prickly Pear or Indian Fig. Originally from Mexico, it has been introduced throughout the world for its edible stems (nopales) and juicy, many seeded berries (tuna). On Saturday 23 Sept. 2023, I took a closer look at this popular plant and now realize why most uniformed people are reluctant to harvest it for a delicious vegetable and sweet fruit. They simply don't know how to avoid its minute spines (glochids) or how to prepare the tasty stems.

The literal translation of its specific epithet (ficus-indica), is Indian fig; however, it is not a fig (Ficus) and not from India. I suppose the fleshy, many-seeded interior of the fruit might superficially resemble a fig, but the painful glochids are not at all like any fig syconium. Some references credit Columbus for discovering it in India; however, he landed in the New World. One must question his navigation skills in 1492.

The common name "mission prickly-pear" is easy to understand because this very useful Mexican plant was commonly introduced throughout the missions of Baja California extending north to central California. There are numerous online articles describing how this cactus is used and prepared. I have included a brief summary in this article.

Opuntia ficus-indica in coastal sage scrub near Bottlewort Trail.

Fleshy fruit (berry) of Opuntia ficus-indica contains numerous very hard seeds. When seeds are removed it makes a delicious, nutritious drink. It is also used for jellies, candies and cosmetics. Some references also list medicinal attributes from prickly-pear juice. It is certainly popular in Mexico. Beware of the arioles because they contain numerous microscopic glochids that become detached with the slightest touch. Although tiny, they are difficult to see and can cause pain for weeks until removed.

Magnified view of a single areole on the fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica. The minute glochids detach with the slightest touch and penetrate your fingers. Because of their barbs, they do not pull out that easily.

Magnified view of glochid that has penetrated my finger. I was very careful handling the fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica; however, I still got a dozen glochids in my hands. They are difficult to see and are painful when touched. Sticky, gray masking tape worked very well in removing them from my skin. Getting glochids in your tongue would be a very unpleasant experience. Glochids can be removed from areoles by singeing fruits with a flame or placing them in boiling water. Note: The pain from regular cactus spines are in a pain class by themselves, especially the barbed spines of jumping cholla. See following paragraph.

One of the most painful botanical experiences of my life involved another cactus called jumping cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii). On a Palomar College botany field trip to Anza-Borrego Desert, a student in my class sat on a jumping cholla stem segment. He was in excruciating pain. I had to remove it from his rear end with my needle-nose pliers. Another student had a stem segment embedded in her shoe. When she tried to kick it away, it suddenly became embedded in my groin area. You can guess where the barbed spines pierced my jeans and penetrated my skin. I never took another introductory class to this particular dense population of jumping cholla! I might add that I even found a bat impaled by the wicked spines in Joshua Tree National Park.

An unfortunate deceased bat entangled in barbed spines of jumping cholla. In this case struggling to get free was hopeless. Photographed along trail in Joshua Tree National Park.

Edible Stems & Fruits of the Mission Prickly-Pear

Nopales & Tunas of the Indian Fig (Opuntia ficus-indica)

The Indian fig (Opuntia ficus-indica) is a large, thicket-forming prickly-pear native to the New World (probably Mexico). There are numerous cultivated varieties, including some with spines and some without spines. Spineless cultivars were highly-prized for their fleshy, sweet fruits (berries) since prehistoric times, and were traded by native American people in Mexico and tropical America. It is called "nopales" in Mexico, and the cactus pads (stem segments) are sliced, cubed and cooked (boiled) like string beans.

Nopalitos, small strips from the cactus pads (stem segments) of mission prickly-pear (Opuntia ficus-indica). The tender stem sections are cooked (boiled) like string beans, and are often cooked with eggs, meat, chiles and onions.

The fresh, many-seeded fruit is called "cactus apple" or "tuna," and it is eaten raw or made into drinks. One must be very careful when preparing the fruits because of minute, hair-like spines called glochids. The painful glochids can be removed from the fruits by scraping or singeing them with a flame, boiling them, or by washing them thoroughly in a tub with a high pressure nozzle. Generally the ends of the fruits are severed transversely, and then the fruits are cut open lengthwise and the contents removed from the skin.

During the 1700s and 1800s in California this cactus was planted near the Spanish missions and on the large Spanish ranchos. In addition to the cooked stems and sweet fruits, the cactus pads were used as a source of mucilaginous binding material for adobe bricks for the mission buildings. Over the centuries, this species has spread and cross pollinated with many native species of prickly pears, resulting in numerous intermediate forms (called hybrid swarms) throughout its range. In fact, some of the massive, thicket-forming, hybrid clones can even survive chaparral and grass fires in southern California, by regenerating from live stems in the center of the thickets where the fire is unable to penetrate. This complex species and its various cultivars and hybrids now grow throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world.

Massive thicket of Opuntia ficus-indica in the Palomar College coastal sage scrub, showing broad leaf segments (pads) bearing numerous ripe fruits in the fall. Large clumps, such as these, are common throughout California, many of which were introduced during the mission period of the 1700s and 1800s. I have seen thickets of them spread across overgrazed land and burned areas. As I stated above, the top ends of fruits are covered with numerous hair-like spines (glochids) that can be very painful if they penetrate the hand, fingers or tongue. The number & density may vary, but so-called spineless varieties still have glochids.

The fleshy fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica is also used to make cactus candy. Although these sweet morsels are delicious, they are guaranteed to raise your blood glucose level.