Prickly pear

Prickly pear is a tree-like plant in the cactaceae family which can reach a height of 5 meters. It is originally from Central America and was introduced to regions with favorable climates. It was exported in the 16th century by European travelers, who ate this plant ffor its high vitamin C content, which helped them fight scurvy during long sea journeys. Nopal is an edible plant found across Central America in different forms. Its fruit is eaten raw, made into an alcoholic drink, also dried into a fruit paste, or cooked and concentrated into juice. Traditionally, the fruit is known to stop colic. A drink made from the flowers is also used to stop colic and as a diuretic. Its pads can be cut open and used as a poultice to help fight inflammation and be emollient for painful contusions, bruising, burns or eczema.