In California, the D'Arrigo Brothers plantation is located in Gilroy, off Heckler Pass Road. Large commercial plantations thrive in Mediterranean areas, and the fruit is an important agricultural crop of Sicily. It will grow at elevations ranging from sea level to 15,000 feet. In some areas of South Africa and Australia, it has become a notorious weed. While the prickly pear cactus is native to the United States, Mexico, and South America, it grows well in many areas of the world, including Africa, Australia, and the Mediterranean. When the blooms fade, the edible fruits form. Over a period of several weeks in late spring and early summer, each pad produces several three-to-four-inch wide flowers that bloom in an array of colors, depending on the variety, from subtle to brilliant tones of yellows and oranges, pinks and reds. Everyone, however, can appreciate the prickly pear's large but delicate and colorful blooms and the sweet, succulent fruit. You may have been intrigued by the seemingly erratic growth of the prickly pear cactus, with its pads protruding at all angles or you may have avoided it because of its sharp, barbed spines and tiny stickers.
It is also called cactus pear and Indian fig ( fico d'India in Italian). The genus Opuntia includes the prickly pear, bunny ears, and beaver tail cacti. Small Farm Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
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