Prickly pear
Cholla
Lots of Cholla
Did you know that these cactus are edible? Prickly pear pads, or nopales, can be cleaned of their bristles, boiled, and added to salads. The fruits can be juiced or candied. Even the petals make a beautiful addition to a salad. Cholla cactus joints can be harvested when young and tender and prepared similarly. Even the unopened flower buds are said to be as delicious as artichokes.
Of course, great care, tongs, heavy leather gloves, and FIRE are required to remove all of those painful spines, especially the nearly invisible hairlike ones. Cholla isn't nicknamed Jumping Cactus for nothing. Those spines practically leap at you even when you are minding your own business.
I took these photos in May 2015 while hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail in the Cajon Pass of the San Bernardino Mountains.
