fleshy part of cactus

cactus having yellow flowers and purple fruits

any of several cacti of the genus Nopalea resembling prickly pears

Native to Mexico it is a member of the cactus family, and is commonly referred to as “prickly pear”. Nopal is a great source of vitamin C and extremely nutritious. Its fruit, known as “tuna”, is served with lime juice for breakfast or lunch.

Edible cactus

The Prickly Pear cactus. Nopales are the fleshy leaves ("paddles"). These leaves are pale to dark green and feature a delicate, slightly tart flavor similar to that of green beans.

Nopals are a vegetable made from the young stem segments of prickly pear, carefully peeled to remove the spines. They are particularly common in their native Mexico. Farmed nopales are most often of the species Opuntia ficus-indica, although the pads of almost all Opuntia species are edible.