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68-401: Many, see List of Opuntia species . and see text Opuntia , commonly called the prickly pear cactus , is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Cacti are well-adapted to aridity; however, they are still vulnerable to alterations in precipitation and temperature driven by climate change. Prickly pear alone

136-538: A 100-gram ( 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 -ounce) reference serving, raw leaves provide 170 kilojoules (41 kilocalories) of food energy , 17% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin C , and 24% DV for magnesium , with no other micronutrients in significant content. The fruit of prickly pears, commonly called cactus fruit, cactus fig, Indian fig (meaning " Native American ", not "of India "), nopales or tuna in Spanish,

204-503: A gene bank , clone bank , clone-holding orchard, or seed orchard where their genes can be recombined in pedigreed offspring. Some analyses suggest that vegetative reproduction is a characteristic which makes a plant species more likely to become invasive. Since vegetative reproduction is often faster than sexual reproduction, it "quickly increases populations and may contribute to recovery following disturbance" (such as fires and floods). A major disadvantage of vegetative propagation

272-541: A noxious weed in some places. Opuntia species are primarily pollinated by bees , including some bee genera ( Diadasia and Lithurgus ) that contain specialist pollinators ( oligoleges ) that exclusively visit Opuntia . Only a few Opuntia species, such as O. cochenillifera and O. stenopetala , are pollinated by hummingbirds . Animals that eat Opuntia include the prickly pear island snail and Cyclura rock iguanas. The fruit are relished by many arid-land animals, chiefly birds, which thus help distribute

340-431: A scion , or a desired cutting, to the stem of another plant called stock that remains rooted in the ground. Eventually both tissue systems become grafted or integrated and a plant with the characteristics of the grafted plant develops, e.g. mango, guava, etc. Layering is a process which includes the bending of plant branches or stems so that they touch the ground and are covered with soil. Adventitious roots develop from

408-505: A vascular cambium , making them more challenging to propagate. Plant propagation is the process of plant reproduction of a species or cultivar, and it can be sexual or asexual. It can happen through the use of vegetative parts of the plants, such as leaves , stems , and roots to produce new plants or through growth from specialized vegetative plant parts. While many plants reproduce by vegetative reproduction, they rarely exclusively use that method to reproduce. Vegetative reproduction

476-412: A certain plant to ensure consistency throughout their crops. Vegetative propagation also allows plants to avoid the costly and complex process of producing sexual reproduction organs such as flowers and the subsequent seeds and fruits . Developing an ace cultivar is extremely difficult, so, once farmers develop the desired traits in, for example, a lily, they use grafting and budding to ensure

544-468: A coagulant for open wounds, using the pulp of the stem either by splitting the stem or scraping out the pulp. In one recent study, it was found that Opuntia aided in the prevention or slow down of diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers. The results of the group that was taking Opuntia showed a reduction in BMI, body composition, and waist circumference when compared to

612-425: A food source and a natural fence that keeps in livestock and marks the boundaries of family lands. They are resilient and often grow back following removal. The 1975–1988 version of the emblem of Malta also featured a prickly pear, along with a traditional dgħajsa , a shovel and pitchfork, and the rising sun. The prickly pear is the official plant of Texas by legislation from 1995. The cactus lends its name to

680-405: A location through vegetative reproduction of individuals over a long period of time constitutes a clonal colony . In a sense, this process is not one of reproduction but one of survival and expansion of biomass of the individual. When an individual organism increases in size via cell multiplication and remains intact, the process is called "vegetative growth". However, in vegetative reproduction,

748-399: A new area where they develop into new plants. In tissue culture , plant cells are taken from various parts of the plant and are cultured and nurtured in a sterilized medium. The mass of developed tissue, known as the callus , is then cultured in a hormone-ladened medium and eventually develops into plantlets which are then planted and eventually develop into grown plants. An offset is

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816-401: A number of different species, but is now only divided into varieties and subvarieties. Most of these are confined to one or a few islands, so they have been described as "an excellent example of adaptive radiation ". On the whole, islands with tall, trunked varieties are also the home of giant tortoises, whereas islands lacking tortoises have low or prostrate forms of Opuntia . Prickly pears are

884-615: A prime source of food for the common giant tortoises in the Galápagos Islands, so they are important in the food web. Charles Darwin was the first to note that the cacti have thigmotactic anthers . When the anthers are touched, they curl over, depositing their pollen on the pollinator . That movement can be seen by gently poking the anthers of an open Opuntia flower . The same trait has evolved convergently in other genera (e.g. Lophophora ). Prickly pears (mostly O. stricta ) were originally imported into Europe during

952-545: A prolonged dry spell followed by hot summers with occasional rain and relatively low humidity. A mean annual rainfall of 350–500 mm (14– 19 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) provides good growth rates. O. ficus-indica proliferates in various soils ranging from sub acid to sub alkaline , with clay content not exceeding 15–20% and the soil well-drained. The shallow root system enables the plant to grow in shallow, loose soils, such as on mountain slopes. Opuntia spreads into large clonal colonies, which contribute to its being considered

1020-472: A song by British jazz/classical group Portico Quartet . The song "My Rival", on the album Gaucho by the American jazz-pop group Steely Dan begins with the words, "The wind was driving in my face/The smell of prickly pear." In the fall of 1961, Cuba had its troops plant a 13-kilometre (8 mi) barrier of Opuntia cactus along the northeastern section of the 28-kilometre (17 mi) fence surrounding

1088-446: A species, and use of DNA sequencing to define and isolate various species. Opuntia hybridizes readily between species. This can make classification difficult, yielding a reticulate phylogeny where different species come together in hybridization. Opuntia also has a tendency for polyploidy . The ancestral diploid state was 2n=22, but many species are hexaploid (6n = 66) or octaploid (8n = 88). Chollas, now recognized to belong to

1156-604: Is also known as mother of thousands for its many plantlets. Keikis are additional offshoots which develop on vegetative stems or flower stalks of several orchids genera . Examples of plants that use keikis are the Phalaenopsis , Epidendrum , and Dendrobium genera of orchids . Apomixis is the process of asexual reproduction through seed, in the absence of meiosis and fertilization, generating clonal progeny of maternal origin. Vegetative propagation of particular cultivars that have desirable characteristics

1224-567: Is an underappreciated crop in these countries and has undergone recent expansion in cultivated area. In some particularly promising areas of India and Pakistan it has given a 30% increase in milk yield / hectare (/ acre ). In Mexican folk medicine , its pulp and juice are considered treatments for wounds and inflammation of the digestive and urinary tracts , although there is no high-quality evidence for any clinical benefit of using opuntia for these purposes. Prior to modern medicine, Native Americans and Mexicans primarily used Opuntia as

1292-440: Is because meristematic cells capable of cellular differentiation are present in many plant tissues. Vegetative propagation is usually considered a cloning method. However, root cuttings of thornless blackberries ( Rubus fruticosus ) will revert to thorny type because the adventitious shoot develops from a cell that is genetically thorny. Thornless blackberry is a chimera, with the epidermal layers genetically thornless but

1360-537: Is considered an invasive species in Australia , Ethiopia , South Africa , and Hawaii , among other locations. The first introduction of prickly pears into Australia is ascribed to the founding governor of the New South Wales colony, Arthur Phillip , and the earliest European colonists, in 1788. Brought from Brazil to Sydney , they were most likely O. monacantha . That variety did not spread beyond

1428-460: Is edible, although it must be peeled carefully to remove the small spines on the outer skin before consumption. If the outer layer is not properly removed, glochids can be ingested, causing discomfort of the throat, lips, and tongue, as the small spines are easily lodged in the skin. Native Americans like the Tequesta would roll the fruit around in a suitable medium (e.g. grit ) to " sand " off

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1496-720: Is more commonly used to refer exclusively to the fruit, but may also be used for the plant itself; in addition, other names given to the plant and its specific parts include tuna (fruit), sabra , sabbar , nopal (pads, plural nopales ) from the Nahuatl word nōpalli , nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word nōchtli , and paddle cactus. The genus is named for the Ancient Greek city of Opus , where, according to Theophrastus , an edible plant grew and could be propagated by rooting its leaves. The most common culinary species

1564-497: Is not evolutionary advantageous; it does not allow for genetic diversity and could lead plants to accumulate deleterious mutations. Vegetative reproduction is favored when it allows plants to produce more offspring per unit of resource than reproduction through seed production. In general, juveniles of a plant are easier to propagate vegetatively. Although most plants normally reproduce sexually, many can reproduce vegetatively, or can be induced to do so via hormonal treatments. This

1632-422: Is sold in summer by street vendors, and is considered a refreshing fruit for that season. In Libya, it is a popular summer fruit and called by the locals hindi , which literally means "Indian". Tungi is the local St. Helenian name for cactus pears. The plants ( Indian fig opuntia ) were originally brought to the island by the colonial ivory traders from East Africa in the 1850s. Tungi cactus now grows wild in

1700-416: Is that it prevents species genetic diversity which can lead to reductions in crop yields . The plants are genetically identical and are all, therefore, susceptible to pathogenic plant viruses , bacteria and fungi that can wipe out entire crops. Natural vegetative propagation is mostly a process found in herbaceous and woody perennial plants, and typically involves structural modifications of

1768-597: Is the "Barbary fig" ( Opuntia ficus-indica ). O. ficus-indica is a large, trunk-forming, segmented cactus that may grow to 5–7 metres (16–23 feet) with a crown of over 3 m (10 ft) in diameter and a trunk diameter of 1 m (1 yard). Cladodes (large pads) are green to blue-green, bearing few spines up to 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) or may be spineless. Prickly pears typically grow with flat, rounded cladodes (also called platyclades) containing large, smooth, fixed spines and small, hairlike prickles called glochids that readily adhere to skin or hair, then detach from

1836-532: Is the ability to develop adventitious roots which arise from other vegetative parts of the plants such as the stem or leaves. These roots allow for the development of new plants from body parts from other plants. There are several advantages of vegetative reproduction, mainly that the produced offspring are clones of their parent plants. If a plant has favorable traits, it can continue to pass down its advantageous genetic information to its offspring. It can be economically beneficial for commercial growers to clone

1904-447: Is used as a fodder crop for animals in arid and dryland regions. Some farmers prepare it with a fermentation produce, to remove the spines, and increase the digestibility. The thick skin of nopal cactus can be harvested as an environmentally-friendly leather replacement. Bioethanol can be produced from some Opuntia species. Nopal juice can be used to produce bioplastic . The prickly pear cactus has been used for centuries both as

1972-475: Is very common practice. It is used by farmers and horticulturalists to produce better crops with desirable qualities. The most common methods of artificial vegetative propagation are: A cutting is a part of the plant, usually a stem or a leaf, is cut off and planted. Adventitious roots grow from cuttings and a new plant eventually develops. Usually those cuttings are treated with hormones before being planted to induce growth. Grafting involves attaching

2040-676: The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to stop Cubans from escaping Cuba to take refuge in the United States. This was dubbed the "Cactus Curtain", an allusion to Europe 's Iron Curtain and the Bamboo Curtain in East Asia . Uruguayan-born footballer Bruno Fornaroli is nicknamed prickly pear due to his sometimes spiky hairstyles. List of Opuntia species Too Many Requests If you report this error to

2108-426: The stem , although any horizontal, underground part of a plant (whether stem, leaf, or root ) can contribute to vegetative reproduction of a plant. Most plant species that survive and significantly expand by vegetative reproduction would be perennial almost by definition, since specialized organs of vegetative reproduction, like seeds of annuals, serve to survive seasonally harsh conditions. A plant that persists in

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2176-577: The "green hell", and their abandoned homes were crushed under the cactus growth, which advanced at a rate of 400,000 hectares (1,000,000 acres) per year. In 1919, the Australian federal government established the Commonwealth Prickly Pear Board to coordinate efforts with state governments to eradicate the weed. Early attempts, comprising mechanical removal and poisonous chemicals failed. As a last resort, biological control

2244-778: The 16th century. They are now found in the Mediterranean region of Northern Africa , especially in Algeria , Morocco and Tunisia , where they grow all over the countryside, and in parts of Southern Europe , especially Spain , where they can be found in the east, south-east, and south of the country, and also in Malta , where they grow all over the islands, and in southern Italy , especially in Sicily and Sardinia. They can be found in enormous numbers in parts of South Africa , where they were introduced from South America. The prickly pear

2312-506: The Galápagos, are trees. Opuntia contains a range of phytochemicals in variable quantities, such as polyphenols , dietary minerals and betalains . Identified compounds under basic research include gallic acid , vanillic acid and catechins , as examples. The Sicilian prickly pear contains betalain, betanin , and indicaxanthin , with highest levels in their fruits. When Carl Linnaeus published Species Plantarum in 1753 –

2380-698: The Kleskun Hills Natural Area of north-west Alberta at 55° 15’ 30’’ N latitude and 118° 30’ 36’’ W longitude. Prickly pears produce a fruit known as tuna , commonly eaten in Mexico and in the Mediterranean region , which is also used to make aguas frescas . The fruit can be red, wine-red, green, or yellow-orange. In the Galápagos Islands , the Galápagos prickly pear, O. galapageia , has previously been treated as

2448-633: The Mississippi, Illinois, and Ohio rivers. The plant also occurs naturally in hilly areas of southern Illinois , and sandy or rocky areas of northern Illinois. Opuntia species are the most cold-tolerant of the lowland cacti, extending into western and southern Canada . One subspecies , O. fragilis var. fragilis , has been found growing along the Beatton River in north-eastern British Columbia , southwest of Cecil Lake at 56° 17’ N latitude and 120° 39’ W longitude. Others are seen in

2516-653: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.132 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 942089793 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:58:28 GMT Vegetative reproduction Many plants naturally reproduce this way, but it can also be induced artificially . Horticulturists have developed asexual propagation techniques that use vegetative propagules to replicate plants. Success rates and difficulty of propagation vary greatly. Monocotyledons typically lack

2584-459: The base of the parent plant's stems or roots. Examples of plants that use suckers are apple , elm , and banana trees . Plantlets are miniature structures that arise from meristem in leaf margins that eventually develops roots and drop from the leaves they grew on. An example of a plant that uses plantlets is the Bryophyllum daigremontianum (syn. Kalanchoe daigremontianum ), which

2652-468: The cactus and simultaneously kill the plant, has also proven an effective measure for combating its spread. Natural distribution of the plant occurs via consumption and associated seed dispersal by many animals, including antelopes , nonhuman primates , elephants , birds, and humans. When ingested by elephants, the sharp components of the plant cause harm to the mouth, stomach, and intestines. O. ficus-indica thrives in regions with mild winters having

2720-478: The chances for a plant to successfully reach maturity, and, commercially, it saves farmers a lot of time and money as it allows for faster crop overturn. Vegetative reproduction offers research advantages in several areas of biology and has practical usage when it comes to afforestation . The most common use made of vegetative propagation by forest geneticists and tree breeders has been to move genes from selected trees to some convenient location, usually designated

2788-451: The consistency of the new cultivar and its successful production on a commercial level. However, as can be seen in many variegated plants, this does not always apply, because many plants actually are chimeras and cuttings might reflect the attributes of only one or some of the parent cell lines. Vegetative propagation also allows plants to circumvent the immature seedling phase and reach the mature phase faster. In nature, that increases

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2856-688: The desert Southwest, where several types are endemic. Prickly pear cactus is also native to sandy coastal beach scrub environments of the East Coast from Florida to southern Connecticut , where O. humifusa , O. stricta , and O. pusilla , are found from the East Coast south into the Caribbean and the Bahamas . Additionally, the eastern prickly pear is native to the midwestern "sand prairies" near major river systems, such as

2924-413: The distinct genus Cylindropuntia , are distinguished by having cylindrical, rather than flattened, stem segments with large barbed spines. The stem joints of several species, notably the jumping cholla ( C. fulgida ), are very brittle on young stems, readily breaking off when the barbed spines stick to clothing or animal fur as a method of vegetative reproduction . The barbed spines can remain embedded in

2992-488: The dry coastal regions of the island. Three principal cultivars of tungi grow on the island: the "English" with yellow fruit; the "Madeira" with large red fruit; and the small, firm "spiny red". Tungi also gives its name to a local Spirit distilled at The St Helena distillery at Alarm Forest, the most remote distillery in the world, made entirely from the opuntia cactus. Cactus pear is being promoted and researched by ICARDA for India , Jordan , and Pakistan especially. It

3060-754: The east coast. However, a number of other types of prickly pear were introduced to Australian gardens in the mid-19th century. The cactus was also used as agricultural fencing and a feedstock for animals in times of drought, as well as in an attempt to establish a cochineal dye industry. The cactus quickly became a widespread invasive weed in the dry interior climate west of the Great Dividing Range , in New South Wales and Queensland , eventually converting 260,000 km (101,000 sq mi) of farming land into an impenetrable green jungle of prickly pear, in places 6 m (20 ft) high. Scores of farmers were driven off their land by what they called

3128-461: The flowers of garlic. Meristem tissue makes the process of asexual reproduction possible. It is normally found in stems, leaves, and tips of stems and roots and consists of undifferentiated cells that are constantly dividing allowing for plant growth and give rise to plant tissue systems. The meristem tissue's ability to continuously divide allows for vegetative propagation to occur. Another important ability that allows for vegetative propagation

3196-813: The glochids. Alternatively, rotating the fruit in the flame of a campfire or torch has been used to remove the glochids. Today, parthenocarpic (seedless) cultivars are also available. The seeds can be used for flour. In Mexico, prickly pears are often used to make appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, vegetable dishes, breads, desserts, beverages, candy , jelly , and drinks. The young stem segments, usually called pads or nopales , are also edible in most species of Opuntia . They are commonly used in Mexican cuisine in dishes such as huevos con nopales ( eggs with nopal), or tacos de nopales . Nopales are also an important ingredient in New Mexican cuisine . In 2009 it

3264-622: The insect's body and eggs to make the red dye. Cochineal is used primarily as a red food colouring and for cosmetics . The cochineal dye was used by the Aztec and Maya peoples of Central and North America, and by the Inca in South America. Produced almost exclusively in Oaxaca , Mexico, by indigenous producers, cochineal became Mexico's second-most valued export after silver. The dyestuff

3332-486: The late summer and early autumn (late July through September). The beles from the holy monastery of Debre Bizen is said to be particularly sweet and juicy. In Morocco , Tunisia , Libya , Saudi Arabia , Jordan , and other parts of North Africa and the Middle East , prickly pears of the yellow and orange varieties are grown by the side of farms, beside railway tracks and other otherwise non cultivable land. It

3400-486: The new plants that result are new individuals in almost every respect except genetic. Of considerable interest is how this process appears to reset the aging clock . As previously mentioned, plants vegetatively propagate both artificially and naturally. Most common methods of natural vegetative reproduction involve the development of a new plant from specialized structures of a mature plant. In addition to adventitious roots , roots that arise from plant structures other than

3468-400: The numerous natural enemies of the scale insect. Apart from cochineal, the red dye betanin can be extracted from some Opuntia plants themselves. The Navajo have traditionally produced a reddish dye from the fruit of the prickly pear cactus, used in dyeing woolen yarns, and where, after pulverizing the fruit, they are placed in a bath solution of cold water for two or three weeks. Cactus

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3536-424: The ones found on the rhizome. Examples of plants that use runners are strawberries and currants . Bulbs are inflated parts of the stem within which lie the central shoots of new plants. They are typically underground and are surrounded by plump and layered leaves that provide nutrients to the new plant. Examples of plants that use bulbs are shallots , lilies and tulips . Tubers develop from either

3604-451: The placebo group. Dactylopius coccus is a scale insect from which cochineal dye is derived. D. coccus itself is native to tropical and subtropical South America and Mexico . This insect, a primarily sessile parasite , lives on cacti from the genus Opuntia , feeding on moisture and nutrients in the cactus sap. The insect produces carminic acid , which deters predation by other insects. The carminic acid can be extracted from

3672-481: The plant. The flowers are typically large, axillary, solitary, bisexual, and epiperigynous, with a perianth consisting of distinct, spirally arranged tepals and a hypanthium . The stamens are numerous and in spiral or whorled clusters, and the gynoecium has numerous inferior ovaries per carpel. Placentation is parietal, and the fruit is a berry with arillate seeds. Prickly pear species can vary greatly in habit; most are shrubs, but some, such as O. galapageia of

3740-456: The popular liqueur known as bajtra . The prickly pear is so commonly found in the Maltese islands, it is often used as a dividing wall between many of Malta's characteristic terraced fields in place of the usual rubble walls. The prickly pear was introduced to Eritrea during the period of Italian colonisation between 1890 and 1940. It is locally known there as beles and is abundant during

3808-482: The region. In Albania , they are called fiq deti translated as "sea figs", and are present in the south-west shore. The figs are also grown in Cyprus , where they are known as papoutsósyka or babutsa ("shoe figs"). The prickly pear also grows widely on the islands of Malta, where it is enjoyed by the Maltese as a typical summer fruit (known as bajtar tax-xewk , literally "spiny figs"), as well as being used to make

3876-476: The root, such as stems or leaves, modified stems , leaves and roots play an important role in plants' ability to naturally propagate. The most common modified stems, leaves and roots that allow for vegetative propagation are: Also known as stolons , runners are modified stems that, unlike rhizomes, grow from existing stems just below the soil surface. As they are propagated, the buds on the modified stems produce roots and stems. Those buds are more separated than

3944-924: The same denomination they receive along the Catalan -speaking regions of the Western Mediterranean, figa de moro . They can be found also in the Struma River in Bulgaria , in southern Portugal and Madeira (where they are called tabaibo , figo tuno , or "Indian figs"), in Andalusia , Spain (where they are known as higos chumbos ). In Greece , it grows in such places as the Peloponnese region, Ionian Islands , or Crete , and its figs are known as frangosyka (Frankish, i.e. Western European, figs) or pavlosyka ("Paul's figs"), depending on

4012-479: The seeds. Opuntia pathogens include the sac fungus Colletotrichum coccodes and Sammons' Opuntia virus . The ant Crematogaster opuntiae and the spider Theridion opuntia are named because of their association with prickly pear cactus. Although the plants are edible, the pointed hairs should not be eaten, and similar species with milky sap are suspect. Raw opuntia leaves are 88% water, 10% carbohydrates , and less than 1% both of protein and fat . In

4080-644: The skin, causing discomfort and sometimes injury. One of the ancient homes of the cactus pear, Mexico, ran a breeding program in the 1960s. This effort at the Antonio Narro Agrarian Autonomous University (Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, UAAAN) produced improvements in some traits including cold-hardiness . Like most true cactus species, prickly pears are native only to the Americas . Through human action, they have since been introduced to many other areas of

4148-548: The starting point for modern botanical nomenclature – he placed all the species of cactus known to him in one genus, Cactus . In 1754, the Scottish botanist Philip Miller divided them into several genera, including Opuntia . He distinguished the genus largely on the form of its flowers and fruits. Considerable variation of taxonomy occurs within Opuntia species, resulting in names being created for variants or subtypes within

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4216-731: The stem or the root. Stem tubers grow from rhizomes or runners that swell from storing nutrients while root tubers propagate from roots that are modified to store nutrients and get too large and produce a new plant. Examples of stem tubers are potatoes and yams and examples of root tubers are sweet potatoes and dahlias . Corms are solid enlarged underground stems that store nutrients in their fleshy and solid stem tissue and are surrounded by papery leaves. Corms differ from bulbs in that their centers consists of solid tissue while bulbs consist of layered leaves. Examples of plants that use corms are gladiolus and taro . Also known as root sprouts , suckers are plant stems that arise from buds on

4284-778: The tissue beneath it genetically thorny. Grafting is often not a complete cloning method because seedlings are used as rootstocks. In that case, only the top of the plant is clonal. In some crops, particularly apples, the rootstocks are vegetatively propagated so the entire graft can be clonal if the scion and rootstock are both clones. Apomixis (including apospory and diplospory) is a type of reproduction that does not involve fertilization. In flowering plants, unfertilized seeds are produced, or plantlets that grow instead of flowers. Hawkweed ( Hieracium ), dandelion ( Taraxacum ), some citrus ( Citrus ) and many grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass ( Poa pratensis ) all use this form of asexual reproduction. Bulbils are sometimes formed instead of

4352-489: The underground part of the plant, which is known as the layer. This method of vegetative reproduction also occurs naturally. Another similar method, air layering , involved the scraping and replanting of tree branches which develop into trees. Examples are Jasmine and Bougainvillea. Suckers grow and form a dense compact mat that is attached to the parent plant. Too many suckers can lead to smaller crop size, so excess suckers are pruned , and mature suckers are transplanted to

4420-626: The world. Prickly pear species are found in abundance in Mexico , especially in the central and western regions, and in the Caribbean islands ( West Indies ). In the United States , prickly pears are native to many areas of the arid, semi-arid, and drought-prone Western and South Central United States, including the lower elevations of the Rocky Mountains and southern Great Plains , where species such as O. phaeacantha and O. polyacantha have become dominant, and to

4488-529: Was attempted. In 1925, the Cactoblastis cactorum moth was introduced from South America , and its larvae rapidly began to control the infestation. Alan Dodd , the son of the noted entomologist Frederick Parkhurst Dodd , was a leading official in combating the prickly pear menace. A memorial hall in Boonarga, Queensland , commemorates the efforts of the moth. The release of cochineal insects, which eat

4556-676: Was consumed throughout Europe, and was so highly valued, its price was regularly quoted on the London and Amsterdam Commodity Exchanges. The biggest producers of cochineal are Peru , the Canary Islands , and Chile . Current health concerns over artificial food additives have renewed the popularity of cochineal dyes, and the increased demand is making cultivation for insect farming an attractive opportunity in other regions, such as in Mexico, where cochineal production had declined again owing to

4624-519: Was introduced as a cheaper alternative to corn for the production of tortillas and other corn products. They can also be pickled. Opuntia ficus-indica has been introduced to Europe, and flourishes in areas with a suitable climate, such as the south of France and southern Italy : In Sicily , they are referred to as fichi d'India (Italian literal translation of Indian fig) or ficurinia ( Sicilian language literal translation of Indian fig). In Sardinia , they are called figumorisca ("Moorish figs"),

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