Cactus pears or prickly pears (Opuntia spp. Cactaceae) are omnipresent plants of the Mexican landscape and have great historical and ethnobotanical significance. Ripe fruits and tender cladodes (pads), have been collected from the wild since pre Columbian times, and the mature cladodes are used as a forage for livestock. Opuntia originated in Central Mexico and some parts of the Caribbean region (Benson 1982; Russel and Felker 1987). Today cactus pear is a well recognized fruit crop in Mexico cultivated throughout the central semiarid highlands.
