Opuntia dillenii Haw.
Synonymy: Cactus indicus Roxb.
Family: Cactaceae
English name: Prickly pear
Opuntia dillenii Haw. is a xerophyte, generally found growing
on the hill slopes in dry sunny areas, where
there is hardly any other deep rooted plant. This bush has an exceptionally
long flowering and fruiting
season. It is adapted to rapid absorption and storage of water from
the infrequent rains of the dry regions. The plant is covered with a thick
cuticle which retards transpiration to a considerable extent. In this plant,
the leaves are modified into spines, whereas the stem is modified into flat,
spongy, leaf-like structures, with the water-storage tissues inside them.
Opuntia dillenii Haw. is found wild in abundance in the Himalayas
up to 1,500 metres. Roxburgh (1832) considered this plant to be a native of
India, whereas Watt (1891) believed it to be of American origin.
Morphology
A succulent shrub, growing under desert and dry conditions; the stem
and branches. which are green, and become flattened and look very much like
leaves, are called phylloclades; height, 1 to 1.8 metres; internodes, 15.2
cm long.
Leaves are modified into spines, and their function is taken up by
the leaf-like stem; the modified leaves aggregate to form groups of fine bristles,
called areoles; the areoles are prickly, the largest one is very stout, sharp
and about 2 cm in length; there are about 35 areoles per internode.
Flowers, yellow, complete, hermaphrodite, cyclic, epigynous, actinomorphic,
5 to 6 cm in diameter epicalyx with 4 sepals, green, 1.7 cm long, 1.8 cm broad
calyx, polysepalous, with 4 sepals, yellowish green, 8 mm long, 1.2 cm broad;
corolla, polypetalous, with 12 petals, regular, superior, Chinese yellow 606,
3.2 cm long, 1.5 cm broad; androecium polyandrous, infinite (with 380 to 450
stamens); versatile, stamens unequal in length (each 8 to 13 mm); gynoecium
having an eight-lobed stigma, each lobe about 6 mm long, style 2 cm long;
ovary, inferior; ovules, numerous. There are around 15 flowers on the topmost
internode. each flower arising from the axil of a scale leaf which falls off
earlier, leaving behind a scar at the base.
Fruits, fleshy, almost berry-like, pyriform, depressed at the apex,
6.1 cm long, 3.1 cm in diameter; weight, 24.92 g; volume, 24.00 ml; colour,
rose Bengal 25; pulp, very mucilaginous; Fuchsia purple 28; juice, Rhodamine
purple 29/2.
Seeds, flat to comma-shaped, about 125 in each fruit, 4 to 5 mm in
diameter; weight, 23 mg; volume, 25 microlitres.
The flowering and fruiting season
Under Solan conditions, the bushes of Opuntia dillenii Haw. keep
on putting forth flowers for a very long period. The overall flowering season
was observed to continue from the second week of May to the middle of August.
However the peak flowering was noted during the third week of May to the first
week of June.
Similarly, the fruiting season is also exceptionally long. It started
in November, and continued up to February. Some fruits could be seen on the
bushes even up to the end of April.
Yield
A bush spreading over 2.5 m2 yields about 2.5 kg of fruits annually.
Chemical composition of the fruit
The edible portion of the fruit contains 78.5 per cent moisture.
The mucilaginous juice of the fruit contains 10.8 per cent total soluble solids,
6.36 per cent acidity, 5.41 per cent total sugars, most of which are reducing
sugars. The tannin and pectin content of the edible portion of the fruit is
0.11 and 0.24 per cent respectively. The vitamin C content of this fruit is
10.38 mg per 100 g of the fruit pulp.
The minerals content of the edible portion of the fruit, as represented
by ash, is 0.757 per cent. The protein content is 0.45 g, whereas phosphorus
is 0.025 g; potassium, 0.458 g; calcium, 0.242 g; magnesium, 0.288 g; and
iron 0.007 g per hundred g of the edible portion.
Medicinal properties
The fruits of Opuntia dillenii Haw. are refrigerant.
The leaves mashed up and applied as a poultice are said to allay heat and
inflammation. The ripe fruits, when eaten, dye the urine red. They are also
said to be useful in gonorrhoea. The leaf made into a pulp is applied to the
eyes in the case of ophthalmia (Watt, 1891). According to Kirtikar and Basu
(1935), and Dastur (1962), the plant is bitter, hot, laxative; stomachic,
carminative, antipyretic. cures biliousness, burning, leucoderma, urinary
complaints, tumours, loss of consciousness, piles, inflammations, anaemia,
ulcers and the enlargement of the spleen. The flowers cure bronchitis and
asthma. The juice of the plant is heating, cures tumours and leucoderma,
Dessert quality
The fruits are mucilaginous, edible and sweet, with a pleasant blend
of acidity. The hairs create difficulty in handling as well as in eating these
fruits and have to be removed before eating, The overall fruit quality is
fair to good.
Utilization
The fruits of Opuntia dillenii Haw. are edible and are said to be
used as food during scarcity. An alcoholic drink can also be prepared from
them.
The colour of the pulp as well as of the juice is very attractive.
A very good jam was prepared from this fruit during the course of the present
investigation. The only problem faced during the utilization of these fruits
is the presence of fine hairy spines on the outer surface. These spines stick
to the skin and cause irritation. They make the handling of these fruits too
difficult. The hairs can be removed to a considerable extent by boiling the
fruits. However, better methods are needed to be standardized for the removal
of hairs from the fruits. The fruits have a very good keeping quality even
under normal storage.
The roots of this plant are very bitter. The underground roots are
used for inducing quick vomiting in the case of persons bitten by poisonous
snakes.
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A.N.Suresh
Kumar , Chennai - India
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