What Is the Importance of a Barrel Cactus?

Fruit and Flowers

• The yellow, scaly fruit that forms on top of the cactus has a bitter taste, but if a person is starving, it may be eaten. The fruit is covered with hair-like splinters that must be removed. Deer, rodents, birds and javalinas eat the sour fruit. Cactus bees pollinate the flowers that form on top of the fruit. The American Indians of the Southwest boiled the young cactus flowers in water and ate them like cabbage. Older boiled flowers were mashed into a drink.

Pulp and Juice

• Native Americans cut the cactus in half and scooped out the pulp to make a cooking pot. Today, the pulp is used to make cactus candy and jelly. It is a misconception that thirsty people can slice the cactus open and drink its water. The fishhook barrel cactus contains a slimy alkaline juice. If this liquid is consumed on an empty stomach or in large quantities, it can cause illness. Other species contain oxalic acid which causes nausea and the inability to walk. However, in an emergency the pulp can be chewed for its food and water content.

Spines and Barrel

• Indians used the spines for fishhooks, awls and tattooing. A spine can also be used as a sewing needle or to remove a splinter. The barrel cactus can help people who are lost in the desert determine direction; the barrel cactus usually leans southward toward the sun. Therefore, it is sometimes referred to as the "compass barrel cactus". Pack rats make their homes in the shade of this cactus.

Landscaping

• Due to its unusual barrel shape, the barrel cactus is used in desert landscapes as an ornamental cactus. It requires very little water and is low maintenance. This slow-growing succulent can reach a height of 3 to 6 feet and a diameter of 2 feet or larger. During July and August, blooms appear like a crown on top of the plant. Depending on the species, they can be yellow, orange or maroon.