Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

OPUNTIA

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V04, Page 926 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

OPUNTIA , the prickly See also:

pear, or See also:Indian fig See also:cactus, is a large typical See also:group, comprising some 153 See also:species, found in See also:North See also:America, the See also:West Indies, and warmer parts of See also:South America, extending as far as See also:Chile. In aspect they are very distinct from any of the other See also:groups. They are fleshy shrubs, with rounded, woody stems, and numerous succulent branches, composed in most of the species of See also:separate See also:joints or parts, which are much compressed, often elliptic or suborbicular, dotted over in See also:spiral lines with small, fleshy, See also:caducous leaves, in the axils of which are placed the areoles or tufts of barbed or hooked spines of two forms. The See also:flowers are mostly yellow or reddish-yellow, and are succeeded by pear-shaped or See also:egg-shaped fruits, having a broad scar at the See also:top, furnished on their soft, fleshy rind with tufts of small spines. The sweet, juicy fruits of 0. vulgaris and 0. Tuna are much eaten under the name of prickly See also:pears, and are greatly esteemed for their cooling properties. Both these species are extensively cultivated for their See also:fruit in See also:Southern See also:Europe, the Canaries and See also:northern See also:Africa; and the fruits are not unfrequently to be seen in Covent See also:Garden See also:Market and in the shops of the leading fruiterers of the See also:metropolis. 0. vulgaris is See also:hardy in the south of See also:England. The See also:cochineal See also:insect is nurtured on a species of Opuntia (0. coccinellifera) , separated by some authors under the name of Nopalea, and sometimes also on O. Tuna. Plantations of the nopal and the tuna, which are called nopaleries, are established for the purpose of rearing this insect, the Coccus Cacti, and these often contain as many as 50,000 See also:plants. The See also:females are placed on the plants about See also:August, and in four months the first See also:crop of cochineal is gathered, two more being produced in the course of the See also:year.

The native See also:

country of the insect is See also:Mexico, and it is there more or less cultivated; but the greater See also:part of our See also:supply comes front See also:Colombia and the See also:Canary Islands.

End of Article: OPUNTIA

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
OPTION (Lat. optio, choice, choosing, optare, to ch... 		[next]
OPUS ('O7rois)

Site © 2006 - Net Industries