especially: an opuntia with flattened, usually paddle-shaped, jointed stem segments compare cholla, nopal
2
or prickly pear fruit: the pulpy, pear- or egg-shaped, edible, yellow to purplish-red fruit of various prickly pears (such as Opuntia ficus-indica) see tunaentry 2
Illustration of prickly pear
prickly pear 1
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Key Ingredients: Bolivian mountain salt, papaya enzymes, prickly pear extract
Best For: Getting rid of scalp build-up, sans residue.—Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue, 4 Mar. 2025 Orchard Hills’ zone is filled with prickly pear cacti, Japanese honeysuckle and Formosa firethorn.—Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2025 Its origins can be traced back thousands of years to pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, appearing in Mayan glyphs and documented in 16th-century accounts by Spanish missionaries in Central Mexico, who recorded tamales made with axolotl, tuna cactus (prickly pear), fish, and rabbit, among other variations.—Cat Cardenas, Southern Living, 30 Nov. 2024 What’s more, it’s infused with prickly pear and aloe vera to soothe and repair skin.—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 10 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for prickly pear
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