Photos of Opuntia macrorhiza Engelm., Prickly Pear, Plains Prickly Pear Cactus

Opuntia macrorhiza Engelm, Prickly Pear, Plains Prickly Pear Cactus, pads (flat stems) and fruits, peeled or burned to remove spines, are eaten. The pads are highly mucilaginous within. Burned and skinned the material inside was used traditionally by midwives as a lubricant for the hands. Spines were used to lance small skin abcesses.

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