Opuntia ficus indica BARBARY FIG / PRICKLY PEAR (15 seeds)

Prickly pear or barbary fig also called Opuntia ficus indica in Latin is a large tree cactus of the Cactaceae family.
It can reach 3 to 5 meters in height.
It is a cactus native to Mexico that is found naturally in Europe in a mild climate.
Prickly pear seeds are beige and very hard.
Its flowers are yellow or orange and open in spring and summer.
This cactus is cultivated mainly for the production of its sweet fruits figs, they are green and then turn red when ripe.
Two other cacti are also cultivated for their fruits: the pitaya also called dragon fruit and the yellow pitaya or Selenicereus.

We use this cactus for the production of its fruit full of vitamins C, for the preparation of very nourishing oils based on flowers or fruits for the skin.
Its young leaves are eaten raw and also contain vitamin C, copper, magnesium and iron.
Its fig fruit helps lower cholesterol levels.

It is also used for the manufacture of natural food coloring: in fact 2 pigments have been identified in this cactus: a yellow pigment and another red-purple.

Sowing barbary fig seeds:

Start by scarifying the seed with sandpaper, then soak the seeds for 24 hours in hot water.
Then prepare small pots of potting soil and sand in equal parts and bury them under 1/2 cm deep.
Gently water the culture and place the pots in a mini-greenhouse at a temperature of at least 30 ° c.
Germination takes place 2 to 4 weeks after sowing.

• Cactus very easy to grow.
• Resistant to -5 ° C if it is not in contact with humidity.
• Reproducible seeds without organic designation but untreated seeds.
• Grows very quickly.
• Edible fruit.

Cactus seeds to plant in pots.