Prickly Pear Cactus

desert plants · edible fruit · cacti

Covered in spikes. The prickly pear cactus is covered in sharp spines that protect it from desert animals and help it survive in hot, dry places where water is hard to find.

Delicious fruit inside. Despite the prickly outside, the plant grows sweet, colorful fruits that people have eaten for thousands of years and still enjoy today.

From Mexico to the world. Between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago, people in central Mexico started growing prickly pear cacti on purpose, and the plant later spread to places like Australia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Pretty flowers too. Before the fruit grows, the prickly pear produces showy, colorful flowers that make the plant beautiful even before it produces food.

Tricky with climate change. While prickly pears are tough plants made for deserts, they can struggle when rainfall and temperatures change too much, which is happening because of climate change.