Photo by Public domain (iNaturalist) on iNaturalist · CC0 (public domain) · photographed specimen identified as Opuntia lindheimeri, a close relative
Prickly pear (tunas & nopales)
Opuntia engelmannii
- When
- Typically June – September — June, July, August, September. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Dry rocky slopes, desert flats and sandy prairie.
- How to know it
- Flat paddle cactus; the fruit (tuna) sits on the paddle rim and ripens deep magenta. Both fruit and young pads are used.
- Look-alikes
- None dangerous, but the hair-fine glochids are miserable — thick gloves, and never rub your eyes.
- Harvest and use
- Tongs and a bucket. Burn or scrub off the glochids, then peel. Syrup, jelly, margaritas; pads grilled as nopales.
- Caution
- The tiny hair-like spines are the hazard, not the big ones.
Found in these regions
- Deserts & Dry Basins
- Prairies & Great Plains
- Mediterranean California
- Southeastern Piedmont & Coastal Plain
Hardiness zones 5–11.
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.