Types of cacti with edible fruits

HomeCactusTypes of cacti with edible fruits

If you ask if the inhabitants of Africa or South America can eat cactus fruits, you will undoubtedly receive a positive answer. Europeans, however, will be skeptical about such a possibility – and completely in vain. Moreover, in order to taste edible cactus berries, it is not at all necessary to look for them on the shelves with exotic fruits in supermarkets. To make sure that the fruits of the cactus are edible, you can grow such succulents at home. In this material, you can see photos and find out the names of edible types of cacti grown in home culture.

Are cactus fruits edible?

Everyone knows that cacti are thorny. But not everyone knows that they are also a significant source of food.

Wherever succulents have been growing for centuries, there are no questions whether it is possible to eat cacti – they are traditionally used for food (stems, fruits, seeds). Juicy fruits are eaten raw, baked, jams, marmalade are made from them, drinks are made. Candied fruits are prepared from the stems of cacti. Fresh young shoots of many prickly pears are put – of course, after removing all the spines, in salads. They are also used for cooking hot dishes. But even in those places where cacti were introduced relatively recently, people quickly appreciated their gastronomic merits.

If you wish, you can try this plant at home. Among cacti (but only cacti!) There are no poisonous ones.

As you can see in the photo, you can taste any part of the plant in edible cacti:

At the same time, precautionary measures must be taken. Spines, especially glochidia, should not get into the mouth. Some types of cacti contain substances of medicinal action – “trying” too much, you can achieve an undesirable effect (however, it is these cacti that do not taste good). Houseplants are subjected to varying degrees of chemical treatment (biocides, artificial fertilizers) and therefore the parts to be sampled must at least be thoroughly washed. Finally, children should not participate in such tastings (in general, the absence of direct contact between cacti and children is only beneficial for both parties).

Next, you will learn the names of edible cacti and you can see their photos.

Cacti with edible fruits: photos and names

The edible fruits of most home grown cacti are too small or not meaty enough. However, you can always try the bright berries that adorn numerous types of mammillaria: juicy, with subtle seeds, sour, without a pronounced aroma. The red juice of these berries is a good food coloring. In many mammillaria fruits are tied without cross-pollination, so getting them in a room culture is not a problem. With some effort, it is not difficult to achieve a more noticeable harvest. Having pollinated the flowers of two different plants of the Decembrist mentioned above, you will soon see ribbed pink pear-shaped fruits the size of a small plum on the bushes. Juicy, fleshy, edible, long-lasting on the bush. In my opinion, just tasteless, but interesting to try. An even more serious “product” is obtained by pollinating any varieties of hybrid epiphyllums (phyllocactus).

For cross-pollination, it is not necessary to have both plants in your house. If your epiphyllum (or Schlumbergera) has bloomed, ask if there is another one blooming somewhere on the window of your friends, at work, etc., from which you can pick a flower or collect pollen. The flower should be fully opened, with mature (crumbling – it is clearly visible) pollen. It is important not to crush it – the juice, like any other moisture, will make the pollen unusable. Pollen can also be collected without picking the flower, with a dry or slightly damp soft brush or swab. The collected pollen does not lose its properties in the refrigerator for several days, but it is better not to hesitate to transfer it to your plant.

The cactus fruit is formed in the lower part of the flower tube, so there is no need to pick a wilted flower – if pollination has not occurred and the fruit has not started, the flower will fall off by itself. If everything went well, then the thickening at the base of the withered flower begins to increase and in about a month a fruit is formed from it. In epiphyllum, it is pink, with a shiny skin, plum-like. It retains scaly leaves of the outer part of the perianth and spines that look a little like bristles. The ripe fruit is soft (which is felt through the elastic skin) and easily detaches from the stem. It should be cut lengthwise and eat the pulp with seeds with a spoon.

There are enthusiastic descriptions of the taste and aroma of the fruits of indoor epiphyllums in the literature, but it is better not to read them in advance so as not to experience a slight disappointment.

Another cactus with edible fruits is selenicereus .

He has the most spectacular berries of all indoor cacti. The main difficulty in obtaining it is to find two “queen of the night” blooming at the same time. Keeping pollen in the fridge can make the task easier, as well as pollinating pollen from other cacti: selenicereus can set seeds, obviously from pollen and a wide range of cacti – experiment.

Your reward will be a heavy, with a small orange, really tasty and peculiar fruit with a delicate pleasant aroma. This “berry” is densely covered with spines and hairs. You can try this fruit not alone, but with a family or a small company.

Here you can see photos of the fruits of edible cacti of various types:

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