Fruits & Vegetables Week: Opuntia ficus-indica, the Indian-fig prickly pear

[Gurcharan Singh]

 Opuntia ficus-indica, the Indian fig, the gregarious species native of Mexico is naturalised in many parts of world and often grown along fences. The stems are sold as Nopalito in New world and consumed as vegetable. The fruits are sold as Tuna, young fruits cooked as vegetable, the ripe ones used in sweetmeats and fermentented liqueurs.

 

Common Names: Barbary-fig, Indian-fig, Indian-fig prickly-pear, mission cactus, mission prickly-pear, prickly-pear,
smooth mountain prickly-pear, smooth prickly-pear, spineless cactus, sweet prickly-pear, tuberous prickly-pear, tuna cactus

--
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/