The Fascinating History of the Prickly Pear

The prickly pear has a history as rich as its origins are distant. Domesticated in Mexico, it crossed oceans, transformed Mediterranean landscapes and nourished traditions on several continents. Here is the journey of this remarkable cactus.

Mexican origins: the nopal, sacred plant of the Aztecs

Mexico is the birthplace of the prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica), which was cultivated long before the Spanish arrived. The Aztecs called the plant "nopalli", the origin of the word "nopal". According to legend, the god Huitzilopochtli told the Mexica to found their city where they saw an eagle perched on a nopal, devouring a snake. This sign is said to have marked the site of Tenochtitlan, where Mexico City stands today.

This symbolism endures: the eagle on the nopal sits at the center of Mexico's flag and coat of arms, a reminder of the ancestral bond between the Mexican people and this plant.

The great crossing: from the Americas to Europe (15th-16th centuries)

After Christopher Columbus's first voyage, the plant was brought back to the Iberian Peninsula in the late 15th or early 16th century. Its hardiness and ability to thrive in poor, arid soils helped it spread.

Over the following centuries, it spread throughout the Mediterranean basin (Spain, Italy, Sicily, North Africa), so much so that many European botanists long believed it to be native.

Cochineal: the cactus's hidden fortune

Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus), a small insect that lives on the pads of the nopal, produces carminic acid, a brilliant red dye. After the Spanish conquest, this dye became one of New Spain's main exports, after gold and silver.

Demand for carmine encouraged the planting of prickly pears as far afield as the Canary Islands, Sicily and North Africa. The arrival of synthetic dyes from 1856 onward caused this trade to collapse. Today, carmine is enjoying renewed interest as a dye of natural origin, including in cosmetics.

North Africa and the Mediterranean: a lasting adoption

In North Africa, especially Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, the prickly pear has become so well integrated that its American origins are easily forgotten. It thrives in semi-arid climates and on stony soils. In Morocco, the planted area grew from about 50,000 hectares in 1998 to more than 150,000 hectares in 2017, before being hit hard, from 2014 onward, by an invasive cochineal (Dactylopius opuntiae).

The prickly pear is part of everyday life in North Africa: its fruit feeds families in summer, its pads serve as livestock fodder, and sales of both fresh fruit and seed oil provide income. Planted as hedges, it also helps limit soil erosion.

An unfortunate invasion: Opuntia cacti in Australia

While the prickly pear enriched Mediterranean landscapes, other Opuntia species caused serious damage elsewhere. Introduced to Australia in colonial times, they proliferated there in a favorable climate, with no natural enemies.

By around 1925, these cacti (mainly Opuntia stricta and Opuntia inermis, not the cultivated prickly pear) had invaded some 25 million hectares in Queensland and New South Wales. The invasion was only brought under control thanks to the introduction, from 1926, of a moth from Argentina, Cactoblastis cactorum, whose caterpillars devour the pads. By 1933, most of the infested land had been cleared.

A place of honor in Sicily and the Mediterranean

In Sicily, the prickly pear found an ideal climate. Known as "fico d'India", it is part of local cuisine and traditions: the fruit is enjoyed fresh or made into granitas, ice creams and liqueurs, and several villages hold a festival in its honor every year.

From survival food to natural cosmetics

Today, after more than 500 years of travels, the prickly pear is no longer just a survival food. Its fruit is enjoyed around the world, and the oil from its seeds, long reserved for local use, has become a sought-after ingredient in natural cosmetics.

Sources: Griffith M. P. (2004), "The origins of an important cactus crop, Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae): new molecular evidence", American Journal of Botany 91(11), 1915-1921; Queensland Government (DAF), "The prickly pear story"; National Museum of Australia, "Prickly pear eradication"; Scientific Reports (2023), "Isolation, identification and pathogenicity of local entomopathogenic bacteria as biological control agents against the wild cochineal Dactylopius opuntiae on cactus pear in Morocco".