Opuntia ficus-indica
Species of cactus / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Opuntia ficus-indica, the Indian fig opuntia, fig opuntia, or prickly pear, is a species of cactus that has long been a domesticated crop plant grown in agricultural economies throughout arid and semiarid parts of the world.[3] O. ficus-indica is the most widespread and most commercially important cactus.[2][3] It is grown primarily as a fruit crop, and also for the vegetable nopales and other uses. Cacti are good crops for dry areas because they efficiently convert water into biomass. O. ficus-indica, as the most widespread of the long-domesticated cactuses, is as economically important as maize and blue agave in Mexico. Opuntia species hybridize easily, but the wild origin of O. ficus-indica is likely to have been in central Mexico, where its closest genetic relatives are found.[4]
Opuntia ficus-indica | |
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Opuntia ficus-indica community growing naturally in Gaziantep, Turkey | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Genus: | Opuntia |
Species: | O. ficus-indica |
Binomial name | |
Opuntia ficus-indica | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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