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Showing posts from July, 2016

Prickly Pear Cactus

Prickly Pear Cactus Imagine a plant which can provide you with several year-round foods, as well as a sweetener, an ice cream flavoring, a red dye, a hair conditioner, flour, and still be a drought tolerant burglar fence. This versatile plant is the prickly pear cactus, providing food, medicine, dye, and landscaping. It is not isolated to remote Arizona deserts, but is found throughout the United States. Though it is most common in the Southwest, it is found on the plains as far east as Nebraska, and one species grows along the Atlantic Coast. Throughout the city of Los Angeles, large and small patches of prickly pear are common on hillsides and vacant lots. In fact, it is so common that it's often just regarded as a "weed." Though it is correct that cacti are about 90% water, it is a myth that you can simply insert a spigot into a cactus and then fill your canteen.