Yes, pincushion cactus fruit is edible. They produce a fruit which resembles berries. Usually, you can spot them in red
Having said that, you could spot them in colors such as white yellow or green. They would further look like elongated structures, which resemble red peppers.
Let’s find more about pincushion cactus fruit
What is pincushion cactus?
Pincushion cactus, also known as nipple cactus or fishhook cactus. pincushion cactus plants tend to take a conical, round, pyramidal or cylindrical shape.
They further consists with splitted separated parts of the areola too. You could spot one of them at the apex and the other one at the base of the plant.
It is up to the apex to grow the little spikes. Bearing the fruits and the flowers is the responsibility of the base part of the plant.
They do not contain leaves. Their sharp spines would cover the whole plant. They would further consist of fibrous or fleshy roots as well.
Pincushion cactus would rise to little over 3 feet. Having said that, most of these cacti would be about 6-8 inches tall and 4-6 inches in diameter.
Pincushion cactus would produce flowers which are funnel shaped. In terms of the colors, they would be green to yellow, pink or red in color.
They would further consist with a darker mid stipe as well. Later on, these flowers transform into berries like fruits.
Someone else would think they would look like peppers. However, the taste of these fruits is pretty sweet. Moreover when you are interacting with the plant, best is to wear thick gloves.
Where to find pincushion cactus
You can find these cacti in southwestern United States, especially in the desert regions.
In addition to that, you could find them in some parts of central America like Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and in Honduras too.
Pincushion cactus fruit
Usually, the fruit of the pincushion cactus would be elongated and tend to look like a berry. Those fruits would further comprise seeds which are dark colored.
In terms of the sizes, they would be about 1-3 mm. So, if you ever come across a desert and run out of food, you could definitely eat pincushion cactus plant fruits and it would act as a good source of water as well.
As aforesaid, the fruits of the pincushion cactus are a good source of water particularly in a desert. Those fruits would typically be red in color.
Further it would have an elongated structure which almost resemble red peppers. The highlight of this plant is that their fruit is edible.
The fruits of the pincushion cactus are juice and sweet in flavor. You do not have to make any effort to eat them since you do not even have to peel them.
It is said that Blackfoot Indians have consumed these fruits as confection. In addition to that, the fleshy inner pulp of the stem could provide a liquid also.
You could spot their fruit in green, and they would look like grape-like berries. In terms of the length of the fruit, they would be about 1-2 cm in length. During late September, it would start to ripe
Further those berries would consist of seeds in brown. They would be about 1-2mm in size.
Pincushion cactus seed
If we elaborate further on the seeds of the pincushion cactus, they are usually included in the pincushion cactus fruit. The colors of the pincushion cactus seeds would be brown.
When it comes to sizes of them, it would be 1-3 mm in size. You could use these plant seeds mainly for the propagation process of the pincushion cactus.
To plant the seed, obtain the seeds from these cacti during spring season. Start moistening the cactus soil mix and succulent soil mix in equal amounts.
After that fill the pots along with cactus and succulent soil mix. Next, you could sow the seeds. After that you need to dust the seeds and to do that you may use a sifter. Keep adding more soil and mix them lightly.
After that you need to place these containers in a place where these specimens could obtain a temperature around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Further you need to maintain an even moisture and make sure that you are keeping the seeds saturated.
Conclusion
So, here we are at the end of the article and trust it was useful to enhance your learnings on the fruit of the pincushion cactus.
Read More: Pincushion Cactus Propagation Guide | 10 Minutes Quick Read |
