Opuntia ficus-indica, (L.) Miller

Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A., 1981, Flora Europaea. Volume 2. Rosaceae to Umbelliferae, Cambridge University Press : 300

5. O. ficus-indica (L.) Miller , Gard. Diet, ed 8, no. 2 (1768).

Erect, 3-5 m, with patent branches; joints 20-50 x 10-20 cm, oblong to spathulate-oblong. Leaves 3 mm, subulate; areoles small, whitish; spines usually 0, rarely 1-2, small, pale yellow or white; glochids yellow, numerous, caducous. Flowers 7-10 cm in diameter, bright yellow; filaments pale yellow. Fruit 5-9 cm, ovoid or obovoid, with strongly depressed umbilicus, yellow, red or parti-coloured, edible. Cultivated for its edible fruit and as a hedge and widely naturalized in the Mediterranean region. [BI Co Cr Ga Gr Hs It Ju?Lu.] (Tropical America.)