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Opuntia ficus-indica 'Burbank Spineless' (Spineless Nopal) - A nearly spineless variety of shrubby cactus that grows to 6 feet tall with branches bearing many oblong 1 foot long thick bluish-green thick pads. In spring and early summer appear the 4-inch wide orange-yellow flowers along the edges at the tips of the pads.
Plant in full sun. This is a very drought tolerant plant and is hardy to below 20° F. The flowers produce edible pear-shaped fleshy reddish-purple fruits (tunas) whose taste has been likened to watermelon and the pads are cooked and eaten and called "nopales" or "nopalitos" .
The native habitat for this Opuntia is likely to have been in central Mexico but as it has been in cultivation for many years its precise origins are unknown and it is now found in locations all over the world. The origin of the genus name is debatable but one story is that it derives from the Latin word 'Opuntius' as a reference to it being native to the ancient Greek city of Opus and according to botanical accounts by Theophrastus and Pliny the Elder, a spiny plant with edible roots and leaves grew at this location and somehow the name was transferred to this New World cactus. A more likely though is that it is from the Greek word 'opus' which means "fig juice" for the fig-like fruits. It may also be a composition word from the Aztec name of "nopalli" combined with the Latin word 'pungere' which means to "prick" or "sting. The specific epithet got its name from a combination of the botanical name for genus of the fig, Ficus, and the misconception that early European explorers had arrived in the "Indies" when they found the plant in the New World.
From seed he received from South America Luther Burbank grew and hybridized Opuntia in the early part of the 1900s for use as cattle fodder. Unfortunately, cattle did not find it that palatable, but the plant has remained in cultivation as an ornamental and for human consumption. Our thanks to Bob Hornback for the stock on this great old cactus.
Information displayed on this page about Opuntia ficus-indica 'Burbank Spineless' is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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