Plant Name:  Opuntia Cactaceae

Botanical Name:  Opuntia ficus indica

Note:  This plant was added to the garden when it was first the Southwestern Edible Garden.  It is not a plant mentioned on the Tribal list but is a wild edible that could have been utilized by the Cahuillan people.

Native Name:  Navtem.  Many types of cactus were used by the Cahuillan people that may not have a specific name.  Navtem is a generic term for cactus.

Height/Physical Description:  Tree-like cactus that grows to 15 feet in height and 10 feet wide. Has smooth, flat green pads.  Few spines on pads and fruit.   Blooms yellow to orange flowers in late Spring and early Summer.  Roundish fruit follows which ripen from yellow to red.

Use:  Food.  Both fruits and pads are edible.

Harvesting:  The fruit is harvested in May and June.  The pads are harvested any time.  The young pads are more tender.

Preparation:  The spines were scraped off the fruit and the skin peeled off then eaten or dried for use at a later time.  After scraping off the spine, the joints and pads could be diced and cooked and eaten as a green.
In Mexican culture, the fruit is referred to as “tuna” and the pads as “nopales.”