Which Prickly Pears Are the Sweetest?

Eastern United States

• Prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa) is one of the only cacti with a widespread growth in the eastern regions of the United States. During May through July, yellow blossoms develop on this cactus plant. The sweet, juicy green fruits mature to reddish-purple color with a rounded formation and measures 2 inches in length. Indian Fig (Opuntia ficus-indica) is a perennial cactus that develops into a shrub-to-small-tree form. This evergreen has yellow to orange cup-shaped flowers that blossom in spring to early summer. The rounded green fruits ripen to a purplish hue with a sweet-tasting inner flesh.

Western United States

• Found in southern and central portions of Texas, Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri -- or the Texas prickly pear -- is an upright, thicket-forming cactus. The thin-skinned fruits mature July through September with a red-to-purple tone and thick, sweet succulent flesh. Coastal prickly pear (Opuntia littoralis) is a perennial indigenous to California. It is a stemmed succulent plant with a shrub-like habit and bright yellow summer blooms with a purplish-to-red undertone. The multiple-seeded berries have a saccharine, watery, reddish-purple pulp and purplish-red skin.

Mexico

• Located in northern Mexico, the purple prickly pear (Opuntia violacea var. castetteri) is an extremely drought tolerant with a moderate growth rate. The succulent pads have an icy blue shade and a rounded formation. Late summer into early fall, creamy-to-yellow flowers bloom among reddish-purple-skinned sweet tasting fruits. A clumping cactus with a shrub form, western prickly pear (Opuntia macrorhiza) has large roots and root stocks. This plant forms green-to-yellow berries that ripen to a reddish-purple tone and sweet flesh. Covered with white-to-reddish-brown upright spines, western prickly pear has deep-dull-green foliage.

Canada

• This perennial native cactus of North America grows in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Plains prickly pear (Opuntia polyacantha) is a 2-foot tall-succulent with a shrub-like habit. Yellowish-green barrel-shaped fruits grow during spring and mature in the late summer to a purple color. The fruits have a deliciously sweet flavor. Growing throughout most of southern Canada, the brittle prickly pear (Opuntia fragilis) is a shrub-like cactus. This perennial has a low-growing-to-prostrate form with a spreading habit. May through July brings yellow-to-greenish blossoms and sweet red-skinned fruits.