by Mildred Boyd

What if there were plants that produced glorious flowers, a wide variety of delicious food and drink, an awesome array of medicines, and two beautiful and color-fast dyes? What if this same plant flourished in areas hostile to most other life, provided a safe place for small birds to nest and, when planted as a hedge, provided a formidable defense against almost all predators?

Well, believe it or not, there is such a plant and it has a curious history. One might suppose so marvelous a specimen would only flourish deep in some lush jungle. Instead, this plant first appeared on the cold, arid upper slopes of the Andes, spreading from there to the equally arid deserts along the Pacific coast. Having adapted itself so well to the most inhospitable regions of South America, there was no stopping it until it had filled the desert areas of both continents.

Scientists call it Opuntia and recognize some 200 species, while Europeans call it Indian fig. In the southwest of the United States it is called the prickly pear and its fruits are prickly pear apples. In Meso-America it is known as the nopal and its fruits are called tunas. By the ancient Meso-Americans it was worshiped as Teonachtli or Divine Tuna and they used them as part of certain religious rites.

No matter what it is called it has been the dietary mainstay of many Mexicans for millennia. It was no accident that the wandering Aztecs accepted the sight of an eagle sitting on a nopale with a serpent in his beak as the sign they had reached their new home or that they named their new city Tenochtitlan, meaning “place of the cactus fruit.” That same image is seen on the Mexican flag today. The Aztecs also used the nopale in their religious rites, pictured it often in their codices and carried it dried as a talisman against evil. They even used the viscous sap to strengthen mortar.

The Chichimeca of the northern deserts ate nopales prepared in many ways all year round and went on long treks to gorge upon the deliciously juicy fruits as they matured. Each pad of the plant produces l0 to 15 fruits which could be eaten fresh or dried to last for a month or more. Once some enterprising soul invented colonche, a wine-like drink made from fermented tuna juice, these journeys were even more exciting. Fortunately, colonche does not keep longer than fifteen days or so. The orgies were, and still are, necessarily short lived.

Opuntia has been successfully domesticated in the more arid areas of Europe, especially on the Mediterranean islands. It is used for much the same purposes as in the New World. Europeans, however, have done better in the alcoholic drink department. At least two commercially important distilled spirits are produced from Opuntia fruit. On Malta, the pink herbal Bajtra Liqueur and, on St. Helena, the clear, more potent Tungi Spirit are produced from Indian Fig. Opuntia.

A modern Mexican housewife is just as appreciative, and even more innovative, than her forbears. She could produce a four course dinner in which every dish used nopales in some form. Pickled for appetizers, fresh for salads, as huevos con nopales, tacos de nopales, fried, baked, stuffed or stewed for the entrée and one of the many sugared tuna concoctions or cakes made from harina de nopal (cactus flour) for dessert. Even the beverage would come from the same plant; perhaps delicious nopale lemonade or a pineapple and tuna juice treat. For good measure, she would greet her guests knowing she looked her best because she had used the gel-like sap of the nopale as a hair conditioner.
Other animals that eat Opuntia include the Prickly pear island snail and Cyclura rock iguanas. The fruits are relished by many arid land animals, chiefly birds, which are vital to the distribution of the seeds.

As for its medicinal properties, no carnival quack could have made more claims for his nostrums. The pads, either fresh or dried and powdered, are said to lower cholesterol, act as a diuretic, banish intestinal parasites, increase the flow of a nursing mother’s milk and combat arteriosclerosis, hyperglycemia, excess bile, fever and obesity. It can supposedly even be used to cure the hangover caused by drinking colonche or any other alcoholic beverage.

The pads can also and prevent constipation while, conversely, the fruit and seeds of the same plant are a sovereign remedy for diarrhea. The fruits are also claimed to prevent cancer while the roots can cure gastric ulcers and erysipelas and soothe wounds, liver irritations and the pains of hernias.

While it is true that most species of Opuntia contain a range of alkaloids in ample quantities and yield a number of medically useful chemicals, most of the claims are still in question. Probably the most important and best attested are the claims that a diet including ample amounts of nopale helps prevent the development of diabetes, though even this is still being investigated. It seems to be true that the disease was unknown in Mexico until the 1930’s soon after the government’s program of keeping prices low on such staples as beans, rice and tortillas was implemented.

All are high carbohydrate foods, hitherto not available to the poor majority, and certainly easier to obtain than harvesting a plant which does not give of its bounty without a thorny struggle. Opuntia comes well armed against predators. Not only do the pads bristle with long, sharp spines, but both pads and fruit have clusters of tiny thorns called glochids which dislodge at the merest touch, penetrate flesh easily and, if ingested can cause serious problems.

Dactylopius coccus, a scale insect from which the cochineal dye is derived, is native to tropical and subtropical South America and Mexico. This parasite lives on Opuntia, feeding on moisture and nutrients in the sap. Cochineal was used all over the New World to dye fabrics and color inks and paints. After the conquest, cochineal became Mexico’s second most valued export after silver. The dyestuff was consumed throughout Europe and was so highly valued that its price was regularly quoted on the European Commodity Exchanges. Today cochineal is cultivated commercially on large plantations and is primarily used as a red food coloring and for cosmetics. In addition, another red dye, betanin, can be extracted from the plants themselves.

Beautiful flowers for the soul, food, drink and medicines for the body, dyes for our clothing and protection from harm; what other plant offers so much? Perhaps we should all