| Plant: A sprawling plant with broad, fleshy, flat joints usually forming thickets. Very spiny. |  |
| Flowers: Showy pale yellow with many overlapping, waxy petals 1 ½ to 2 inches long. |   |
| Fruit: Pear-shaped, dark reddish-purple and covered with bristles and are edible after the bristles are removed. There is a depressed scar where the flower was attached. |  |
| Fleshy pads: After removing the spines and skin, they can be
sliced
and eaten. The white wax protective mass of the Cochineal scale
can infest the pads. The bright red dye from the insect has been
used by American Indians for centuries and introduced to Europe as a
textile dye by the Spaniards. |
    |
| Flowering period: | May to June |
| Use by Indians: | Boiled the fruit to make a sauce or ate them raw. |
| Can be found here: | Numerous places along Back Bay Drive, West Bluffs |
| Native Plant: Yes | Halophyte: No |
| Family Name: Cactus |
|
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Date: 10/17/2005
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