Common Name:

General Information

Opuntia chiangiana is a spiny, succulent, shrubby cactus with a spreading habit, growing around 250cm tall and 250cm wide[]..
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

The plant has numerous minutely barbed glochids - these are barbed spines that are usually small to minute and are very sharp and brittle. The glochids are very easily dislodged when the plant is touched and can penetrate the skin where, because of their barbs, they become stuck and are very difficult to see and remove. They can cause considerable irritation and discomfort[, ].
Opuntia species can contain quite high levels of oxalic acid, especially in older parts of the plant. Perfectly alright in small quantities, foods containing oxalic acid should not be eaten in large amounts since it can lock-up other nutrients in the food, especially calcium, thus causing mineral deficiencies. The oxalic acid content will be reduced if the plant is cooked. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet since it can aggravate their condition[, ].

Botanical References

Range

Southern N. America - southwest Mexico (Oaxaxa)

Habitat

Deciduous tropical forests and in oak forest[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Height	0.00 m

Cultivation Details

When the fruits mature they often remain attached to the plant in edible condition for a year or more[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[]. The fruit is intermediate between the prickly pears with their sweet edible pulp surrounding the seeds and the xoconostles that have have a dry mass around the seeds and a swollen, acid-flavoured mesocarp. It has a bitter-sweet flavour, and is known as a xoco-tuna[]. The reddish-purple, pear-shaped fruit is around 35 - 40mm long and 20mm wide[].

The tender young stem segments of various species are often cooked as a vegetable[]. Known as ‘nopals’ in Mexico, where they are a common ingredient in numerous dishes, they can be eaten raw or cooked, used in marmalades, soups, stews and salads. The most commonly used species are Opuntia ficus-indica and Opuntia matudae, although the stems of almost all Opuntia species are edible[, ].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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