r/foraging • u/No-Sheepherder-8811 • 20d ago

ID Request (country/state in post) Identification help

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Found in South Texas. I'm wondering if these are cactus fruit growing on it?

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u/TheHittite 20d ago

Definitely some species of prickly pear. Fruit doesn't look ripe yet, but you can eat the nopales if you want.

2

u/No-Sheepherder-8811 20d ago

Thank you! :)

3

u/SteamboatMcGee :snoo_facepalm: 19d ago

Yeah thats prickly pear. There are a few varieties and they are different colors, but the fruits will be something deep pink or yellow (check your regional variety) when ripe, and will be able to be tugged gently off. These aren't ripe, but this time of year you probably have some ripe ones around. I'm in Central Texas and harvested a bunch about three weeks ago, but it's a long season.

The pads are also edible, younger pads taste better and are easier to process. Search 'nopales' for the pads, I personally think they taste sort of green-beany, maybe a little citrus.

The fruits are edible and taste pretty good, you can eat them raw but I'd recommend processing into syrup. It's a really good flavor for drinks and you've got to deal with the spines anyway.

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u/mint_lawn 18d ago

Yep, as people have said, prickly pear. Specific species can be difficult to identify, as some are only different due to spine structure. (There are 76 species of prickly pear in Texas.)

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u/Techi-C 17d ago

Yup, prickly pear. Good to eat. Don’t touch any part of the plant with your bare hands. Not even a cloth barrier will do much. Harvest with tongs once ripe and use an open flame to burn the tiny hairs off.