Prickly pear cacti - Opuntia ficus - indica

Nice fruit when ripe. It is mostlikely a native of Mexico.

comments (2)

Calbost Niel

Lion

Of course it was a scourge in Australia. By the year 1920, prickly pear (mainly Opuntia stricta spp.) infested 58 million acres (23 million hectares) of land in New South Wales and Queensland. It was spreading at an alarming rate of 1 million acres a year when the cactoblastis insect was first released. Within six (6) years most of the original pear had been destroyed.
http://northwestweeds.com.au/sample-page/cactoblastis-biocontrol/ Posted 4 years ago
1. Ernst
  
  Lion
  
  Interesting info, thanks Niel. Posted 4 years ago

The Argentine Pricklypear

"Opuntia ficus-indica" is a species of cactus that has long been a domesticated crop plant important in agricultural economies throughout arid and semiarid parts of the world. It is thought to possibly be native to Mexico.

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Similar species: Pinks, Cactuses, And Allies

Species identified by Ernst