The Tropical Fruit Forum

Temperate Fruit & Orchards => Temperate Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: Mangifera08 on December 30, 2018, 10:01:01 AM

Title: Hardy cactus with edible fruit?
Post by: Mangifera08 on December 30, 2018, 10:01:01 AM

Are there are any cactus species, wich are hardy in zone 7 and produce (good), edible fruits?

Title: Re: Hardy cactus with edible fruit?
Post by: nullzero on December 30, 2018, 11:01:44 AM

Look up Maihuenia poeppigii

Title: Re: Hardy cactus with edible fruit?
Post by: Mangifera08 on December 30, 2018, 01:24:43 PM

Very interesting, thanks for your help!

Title: Re: Hardy cactus with edible fruit?
Post by: nintendere on January 04, 2019, 08:40:31 AM

I haven't yet tried it myself but I remember reading that Opuntia engelmannii produces edible fruit.

Title: Re: Hardy cactus with edible fruit?
Post by: Mangifera08 on January 04, 2019, 01:35:55 PM

Thanks for your information. I`ve done a lot of research myself and found out that all true cactus species are edible, of course there are some more suited for eating then others. But all are edible. So if you want to know wich cactus species produce edible fruit in your cold climate, all you have to know is which species are hardy in your zone. 
     

Title: Re: Hardy cactus with edible fruit?
Post by: Daintree on January 07, 2019, 07:10:39 PM

Be careful with that word "edible". 

My husband constantly laughs at me when I buy or create "edible" things that taste like poo (for example, the year I carefully pollinated my Christmas cactus to get fruit. Bleh!).

Now I only keep things that are not only edible, but are TASTY.

Carolyn

Title: Re: Hardy cactus with edible fruit?
Post by: Mangifera08 on January 08, 2019, 07:08:07 AM

Of course I would keep the good/better tasting ones instead of the barely edible ones. But if you want to find as many good tasting cactus species as possible, you have to try all and decide. Edible simply means not poisonous. It`s important to know that all true cactus species are edible (=safe to eat), if you going to search for good tasting species.

Title: Re: Hardy cactus with edible fruit?
Post by: Florian on January 10, 2019, 03:45:03 PM

I have only had fruit from my Opuntia humifusa but they are tasty. Only about the size of a date but sweet and with a fruity flavour. Opuntia engelmannii would have larger fruit than humifusa but still much smaller than O. ficus-indica.

Title: Re: Hardy cactus with edible fruit?
Post by: TriangleJohn on January 10, 2019, 06:29:10 PM

I brought various un-named species of Opuntia with me when I moved from Oklahoma City (zone 6 or 7) to Raleigh NC (zone 7b). Oklahoma has hotter and longer summers and the fruit there had decent flavor (not quite the same as cactus in Arizona or California. The fruit from these same plants when grown in NC has hardly any flavor. I am going to try fertilizing them more to see if I can improve the taste.

Title: Re: Hardy cactus with edible fruit?
Post by: Mangifera08 on January 17, 2019, 01:19:31 PM

Thanks for your information, the only problem with Opuntia species are the nasty glochids, but the fruits are certainly good.
Interesting to know that the length and intensity of the summer can have an impact on the flavor of the fruit.

Title: Re: Hardy cactus with edible fruit?
Post by: pvaldes on March 29, 2019, 11:16:53 AM

> all true cactus species are edible

Cactaceae are *normally* non poisonous in general, but  a few species develop alkaloids that can spoil the experience or even be dangerous. Echinopsis is not a safe Genus and Lophophora is an unsafe Genus. This does not apply to the mature fruits (but could apply to non mature).

And all Euphorbia "mimicking" cacti (but in a different family) are poisonous of course