My mother used to harvest these pads in late spring and early summer and then would dice and cook them. The green pads are considered a vegetable and are also edible. This fruit is edible - but first be sure to burn off the fine and barely visible barbed spines lest they get lodged in your throat. The deep red fruit that adorns the prickly pear is referred to as tuna. The prickly pear cactus is both fruit and vegetable. That’s right! The word cactus is derived from the ancient Greek word kaktos which means prickly plant. With that in mind, here are five interesting facts about our Texas-tough State plant.
![prickly pear cactus prickly pear cactus](http://www.my-photo-gallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Prickly-Pear-Cactus1.jpg)
Prickly pear cactus was an abundant food source for the cattle on his ranch. He referred to this process as chamuscar which means to singe. I also have vivid memories of my uncle burning the thorns off of cactus plants on his Duval County ranch so that his cattle would have something to eat. I learned early on how painful it can be to rub up against a cactus plant.
![prickly pear cactus prickly pear cactus](https://flowerlife.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IMG_5817.jpg)
My big backyard playground was thick with prickly pear and mesquite growing out of barren hard-packed dirt. There is just something about the resilient prickly pear cactus that has Texas written all over it.Īs a South Texas boy, I grew up in the land of prickly pear cactus. In 1995, our esteemed lawmakers designated the prickly pear cactus the official state plant. Some, like the bluebonnet, are better known than others.
![prickly pear cactus prickly pear cactus](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nZkSKMQig9E/VZNn5X573VI/AAAAAAAACZ4/a7BIDoKYGkw/s1600/prickly_pear_cactus_flower.jpg)
Over the years, the Texas State Legislature has designated 72 official state symbols.