Prickly pear
భారతీయ నాగ జెముడు
Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.
- light
- Full sun
- water
- Little
- tall
- 4.4 m
- wide
- 6.0 m
Cactaceae
Also called Indian fig opuntia, Mission Prickly-pear, Barbary fig, Indian-fig, Mission cactus
Formerly Cactus chinensis, Cactus ficus, Cactus ficus-indica, Cactus opuntia, and 21 more
When it flowers
Flowers September to February in the tropics.
Read from iNaturalist photographs of it in flower. A month counts at 50% of the best month's flowering share (smoothed over three months) and 10% of its flowering count, from at least 100 flowering observations in the band.
If a child, a pet or anyone may have eaten a plant, contact a doctor or vet straight away, or call the National Poisons Information Centre (AIIMS, New Delhi) on 1800 116 117, free and open 24 hours.
Something wrong with it?About it
- Grows as
- Succulent shrub or treeKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Climate
- Seasonally dry tropicalKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Wild in
- Mexico (Oaxaca)Kew's checklist, not yet checked
- Light
- Full sun (6 h or more)Read from RHS, one source
- Height
- 4.0 m to 4.9 mRead from RHS and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: RHS 4–8 m; Wikipedia 3.7–4.9 m
- Spread
- 4.0 m to 8.0 mRead from RHS, one source
- Water
- Little: takes droughtRead from Wikipedia, one source
- Flowers
- YellowRead from RHS and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: RHS orange, yellow; Wikipedia red, white, yellow
- Coldest it survives
- 1 °C (USDA zone 10a)Read from RHS, one source
- Hottest it survives
- 50 °CRead from Wikipedia, one source
Not known yet: heat.
Grow it with
Suggested by a rule, not by a gardener: same climate (kew), flowering when this plant does not (inaturalist), and a different shape.
Apple-of-PeruFlowers March to August, when this does not
Arabian jasmineFlowers March to August, when this does not
Barbados lilyFlowers March to August, when this does not
Billygoat weedFlowers March to August, when this does not
Black-eyed Susan vineFlowers March to August, when this does not
Blue dazeFlowers March to August, when this does not
In other languages (12)
- Spanish
- Nopal de castilla, Chumbera, Tuna
- French
- Oponce figuier de Barbarie, Figuier de Barbarie, Figuier d'Inde
- Portuguese
- Figueira-da-índia, Tabaibeira, Arumbeba-cuí
- Chinese
- 梨果仙人掌, 秘鲁柱, 食用仙人掌
- Russian
- Опунция индийская, Опунция инжирная
- Hebrew
- צבר מצוי
- Catalan
- Figuera de moro
- Italian
- Fico d'India, Fico d'india
- root
- Nochtli, ānōchtli, tlatōcnōchtli
- Finnish
- viikunaopuntia, Viikunaopuntia
- Czech
- opuncie mexická
- Dutch
- Vijgcactus
Where this comes from
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-24, CC0-1.0 (observation counts)
- Wikidata, read 2026-10-26, CC0-1.0
- Kew's checklist, read 2026-10-24, CC-BY-4.0
- RHS, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- Wikipedia, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- Wikimedia Commons, read 2026-10-24, CC BY 4.0
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC0
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC0
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-25, CC BY
- 3D model: Opuntia ficus-indica (built for Vanagrha) by Vanagrha, own
A fact “checked by a majority of its sources” was settled by a vote of the pages it was read from, not by a person reading it; one marked “one source” rests on that page alone. Anything else not marked checked has not been checked yet. Where nothing is known, the page says so rather than guess.