Saved by the Prickly-Pear Cactus

I’ve read that the prickly-pear (Genus Opuntia) can be  found in every one of our fifty states. In my childhood in South Texas I became well acquainted with it. Cactus grew everywhere, and the prickly-pear was strangely attractive to a youngster. The big yellow flowers (the “Yellow Rose of Texas”) swarming with bugs, then later on, the bright red fruit. And don’t forget the cochineal bugs, hiding under wisps of cotton on the pads. Squash one and stain your fingers bright red. And sooner or later you learn to avoid those big guard thorns. Heaven help you if you brush against those tiny little curved spines (glochids) than you just can’t brush off. (Now I wonder – would duct tape help remove them?). 

A curiosity now, but salvation to the Indian tribes of the Texas coast. And for Cabeza de Vaca and his few colleagues who survived several disasters, only to be enslaved by the natives. Andrés Reséndez (in his book A Land So Strange; see my Shelfari page) describes how Cabeza de Vaca accompanied his captors to the “tuna fields,” extensive stands of huge cactus, where Indians gathered to feast on the fruits when they ripened. One such field was up the Nueces near Corpus Christi; another further to the west (Falfurrias, perhaps?). The Spaniards managed to shift between Indian tribes when all of them gathered at the tuna fields. Wonder what those Indians did about the thorns, large and small? 

Here in Georgia, our local prickly-pear is a shriveled little thing. I find it on rocky outcrops in the woods. So few thorns you can just pick it up. It lies flat on the ground during the winter. In the springtime it stand up and blooms, a pretty yellow flower. For me, a nice reminder of Texas.

dac

8/5/08 

Comments

[Mike Draney]

Prickly pear does pretty good in my mother in law's backyard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...good enough to teach my nephew about the dangers of ignoring cactus!

I saw one of those "Emergency Room doco-dramas" recently where a little girl fell into some cactus and her parents didn't want her anaesthetized to get them out. The ER doctor tried duct tape, but it wasn't sticky enough. Then he hit on the answer...bikini wax! That, apparently, does the trick.

Mike D.

[Lindsay]

The Prickly pear margarita is a yummy summer cocktail. Adds a slight sweetness and beautiful color to the tasty treat!

[Irene Black]

Our first experience seeing them grow in the wild was on a neighbor's farm above the KY river in a large pasture. There was an old log cabin--have no idea of its age nearby.
Several large clumps about five foot in diameter and four feet high grow in yards in our area. The yellow bloom is lovely. So count KY as one of the states where it grows.

[Sharon W]

Of course, prickly pear is the only naturally growing cactus we had in NJ. It reminds me that my dad always used say, that except for the lack of Palm trees, NJ could grow anything that could be found in any other state in the Union-hence the term "Garden State".

I've always wanted to try cactus. And now even more so after seeing an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay", which showcased Chiles Rellenos, my favorite Mexican dish, and the one I measure the authenticity of a mexican restaurant with. The La Casita Mexicana in L.A. won out with their cactus stuffed poblano!

[Genie]

they sell them with the produce at the J & J Flea Market, so Geogia folk must be eating them, too

[Larry Cavazos]

Yes, I remember the pear burners. During a prolonged dry spell, the men on the ranch burned the spines off of the pear. The cattle followed the men and ate the pear as it cooled. Also, in the spring, mother gathered new cactus leaves, cut off the tender spines and we had nopalitos--not bad. Larry

[Marj]

Shortly after I began emailing people, especially childhood acquaintances, I had an email from Joe Messerli, Annabelle and Mary Jane's little brother who was well-known for his drawings and later for cartooning in Hollywood, telling me that his dad developed a pear-burner in the 1920s for the King Ranch to scorch the thorns off the pears so that they could be used to feed the cattle when cash money was hard to come by during the Depression or when it forgot to rain on the Ranch.

[Ira Guy]

if you get a lot of spins stuck in an area...especially the small hard to see ones you can use bikini waxing strips to remove them(and those unsightly unwanted hairs). Sort of painful but better than the alternative.
Ira