Opuntia Or Prickly Pear Cactus. Opuntia Ficus-Indica, Or Prickly Pear, Is A Species Of Cactus That Has Long Been A Domesticated Crop Plant Grown In Agricultural Economies Throughout Arid And Semiarid Parts Of The World, Is The Most Widespread And Most Commercially Important Cactus. It Is Grown Primarily As A Fruit Crop, And Also For The Vegetable Nopales And Other Uses. A Perennial Shrub Can Grow Up To 5 M In Height, With Thick, Succulent, And Oblong To Spatulate Stems Called Cladodes. It Has A Water-Repellent And Sun-Reflecting Waxy Epidermis. Cladodes That Are 1€“2 Years Old Produce Flowers, With The Fruit`s Colours Ranging From Pale Green To Deep Red.

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agricultural arid cactus cladodes colours commercially crop deep domesticated economies epidermis fruit fruits green grown house important long nopales oblong old opuntia ornamental pad pale parts pear perennial plant prickly ranging red semiarid shrub spatulate species stems succulent sunreflecting vegetable wall white widespread years