Mission cactus, better known as Indian fig or Barbary fig, is a large, treelike prickly pear grown for its sweet fruit and its young pads, eaten as . It was domesticated in central Mexico and is now grown in warm regions worldwide. In the U.S. it grows in frost-free areas of the South and Southwest.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A treelike cactus 10–16 ft (3–5 m) tall with a short trunk. Its green pads are big, about 12–24 in (30–60 cm) long, and can have no spines at all or several white spines up to 1.5 in (4 cm) long.
- Flowers
- Yellow to orange flowers, sometimes white or red, open along the edges of 1–2-year-old pads in late spring to early summer (May–June in California).
- Fruit
- Juicy, fig-shaped fruits 2.5–3.5 in (6–9 cm) long ripen from late summer into fall, yellow-orange to deep red or purple, full of small hard seeds.
Look-alikes
Very similar in Southern California; Indian fig tends to grow into a true small tree with a trunk and very large pads, often with few or no spines. Mixed plants can be hard to name from photos.
Why they get mixed upThe two look very much alike, and Indian fig crosses freely with native prickly pears where they grow together.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- dry hillsides
- coastal bluffs
- old hedgerows and gardens
- Range
- Domesticated in central Mexico and now grown in warm regions worldwide. In the U.S. it is planted in frost-free parts of the South and Southwest. It is not native to California but has been recorded in about 30 counties there, mostly where it persists or occasionally escapes from old plantings.
- Preferred conditions
- Needs well-drained soil and handles extreme heat above 120 °F (50 °C). Even brief cold of about 10–14 °F (−10 to −12 °C) damages it.
- Flowering
Flowers May–Jun
Flowers May–Jun
Growing it
- Care
- Spineless forms are grown for livestock feed in dry regions, and ranchers in the Southwest have begun planting it for feed and boundary fences. It needs sharp drainage and little water.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Spiny plants were once called Opuntia amyclaea and Opuntia megacantha; both names are now treated as the same species.
- Varieties and forms
- Spineless and spiny forms both exist.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- DDData DeficientNot enough data yet to assess
- Status
- It is considered invasive in North Africa.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- A prickly pear appears in the coat of arms on the Mexican flag, and the prickly pear has been the official state plant of Texas since 1995.
- The Chumash of California used this introduced cactus for paint, sealant, food, and medicine.
- It is the main host for cochineal insects, farmed since pre-Columbian times for a brilliant red dye.
More species to explore
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