Some types of cactus plants can be eaten, including dragon fruit, prickly pear, barrel, cholla, and saguaro. Prickly pears produce edible fruits perfect for jellies, jams, and juices.

Prickly pear comes in several varieties but one of the more attractive choices is Purple Prickly Pear. It will turn purple in the colder parts of the season and has a bright yellow flower as well.

But “handle with care” also applies to the prickly pear. It’s the fruit of the Opuntia cactus, a group of cacti native to the Americas that seemingly thrives all around the world.

Prickly pear is the official State Plant of Texas, designated in 1995. According to Ricky Linex in "Range Plants of North Central Texas," there are five species and several varieties in our area.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The prickly pear cactus is a landscape staple here in Texas, officially declared the state plant back in the 1990s. It’s a charismatic part of the Southwest terrain and serves ...

Across the way, Karen Bedell of Sonoran Scavengers is selling not just prickly pear products but mesquite flour, wolfberry jam and candied barrel cactus. Most of it is gathered from wild plants.