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 nōpalli, nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word nōchtli, 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

reminders:

  • 💚 You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
  • 💙 Hexbear’s algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
  • 💜 Sorting by new you nerd
  • 🌈 If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can reserve a spot here nerd
  • 🐶 Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog

Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):

Aid:

Theory:

  • Keld [he/him, any]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    2 hours ago

    Apparently one of my fellow students took a hospital shift on pentecost evening and that gave them a holiday bonus in their hourly pay. So they made like 50 dollars an hour. I am so mad guys I’m fucking seething. I did fuck all that day. I could have paid my entire rent.

  • Keld [he/him, any]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    3 hours ago

    I hate mnemonics so much it’s unreal. I also can’t function without them. My brain is filled with nonsense phrases which function as index cards for information I otherwise can’t access.

  • BanSwitch2Buyers [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    5·
    5 hours ago

    Non-binary wife has changed their name to Pretzel (cute) but they’ve also started adding saltrubs to their skin routine (salty), which I didn’t realize until now but I think they got saltrub and salt scrub mixed up. But they taste too good for me to broach the subject now.

  • Frogmanfromlake [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    5·
    6 hours ago

    Taiwanese kid who talked to me on the Subway about Twitch Drama….I’m sorry I doubted your parasocial knowledge. You were right about Valkyrae and Hasan dating. I’ll never doubt another parasocial Twitch follower again.

  • OttoboyEmpire [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    51·
    8 hours ago

    flirting/hooking up with a girl from Argentina who knows little english and so i’m just moronically/knavishly naming all the Argentinian things i know in an effort to traverse cultural /linguistic boundaries and i mention Milei and she knows Milei and i ask what she thinks of Milei and she likes him and i laugh and ask if he doesn’t look goofy and then i immediately pivot to Evita or some shit because she’s absolutely gorgeous and you have to pick your battles.

  • DragonBallZinn [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    2·
    6 hours ago

    I think I want to take a college course soon, but I have a couple concerns.

    1. What’s the point if I don’t get an A? Porky’s a picky guy so why would he ever settle for anything less than perfection? And since I’m not going to be 22 by the time I graduate, porky’s likely to just brand me as a waste of skin and not give me the job. Thus making the course a waste of time and money.

    2. How do I know what porky even wants anyways? He just announced “just kidding lol” over CS, but porky hasn’t announced the new degree he demands people study yet so I don’t even know what to study, but I need to get more and more qualifications if I even want a shot at even being a cashier these days.

    3. What if whatever I’m studying I grow bored of and hate? If history is anything to go by, I grow bored of almost everything and I really have no interest in anything. I’m not like everyone else, who despises everything about the world except for one teeny tiny box and then study that and do nothing else.

    I need to find a way, any way to finally get porky’s attention and get a job. I’m way behind my entire generation and it sucks that every zoomer is a goddamn genius except for me.

    • Blockocheese [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
      2·
      1 hour ago

      I had a mid GPA, no research experience, and im an autistic POC and got a job secured before I graduated

      Write a cover letter, know what youre talking about, and practice interviews a million times

    • AdmiralDoohickey [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
      4·
      5 hours ago

      The recruiters care more about experience than grades tbh. If you can get an internship with a B you will be in a better position than someone with an A but absolutely no experience