Prickly pears in South Africa

Last updated

Opuntia ficus-indica (known as the prickly pear) is a plant that has been part of the landscape of South Africa for over 250 years. [1] [2]

Contents

Arrival and spread

The prickly pear was brought to South Africa, from the Americas, in the mid-18th century. [1] It was proposed to be used as a “living fence”, to separate and protect property but, in the Western Cape, it became, in effect, more of an interesting feature in gardens. [3] When it established itself in the Eastern Cape and Karoo, it took control of the environment around it because of being drought resistant, able to reproduce without seeds as well as its “extensive seed dispersal”. [4] It thrived in these regions, where the original vegetation had already been disturbed by settlers. [4]

Uses

Part of what facilitated the spread of the prickly pear was its utility. The plant was used by a variety of people: It has “been, at some time, of importance to white commercial farmers, farmworkers, African landholders and urban communities”. [5] The fruit can be eaten or turned into jams, preserves, beers, wines and soaps and the leaves can be used as medication. [6] In addition, prickly pear can be useful fodder, particularly during drought, when few other plants survive. [7] [8] [2] Many of both black and white inhabitants of the areas in which the prickly pear was prominent came to rely on the plant as a useful asset to be eaten, prepared, sold or used as fodder and, consequently, there were groups of people who had a very positive attitude towards the plant, with one farmer of the time going so far as to say that “there is nothing better in this country”. [9] [8]

Detrimental impacts

To many farmers and the colonial administration, the pear was not seen as an asset but as an invader, come to conquer farming land and drive white farmers into poverty. The plant could degrade the land to the extent where it could no longer be used for pastoral farming and could have a detrimental effect on stock. [9] In addition, the plant was seen to have a negative effect on availability of labour as it “allowed blacks and poor whites to elude wage labour for half the year by harvesting and selling the fruit crop”, and the alcohol made from it was seen to make people “unfit for labour”. [10] In addition, it was believed that thieves and vagrants could hide in the plants and live on their fruit. [10]

Eradication

The above factors led some farmers to put pressure on the colonial administration to fund and make compulsory the eradication of the plant. [10] The administration did not, however, because of objections from other farmers and the economic cost of such a project. [11] They did decide to subsidise or fund farmers with arsenic to get rid of prickly pear on farmland. It cut down on the extensive labour – and, thus, high costs eradicating the plant. [12] This was not particularly effective, and the effect which the arsenic had on land, labour and stock was often extremely detrimental. [13] In the early 1930s, when the amount of prickly pear was at its height, the government garnered enough support to be able to launch the bio-control project. In 1932 biological control in the form of, particularly, the cochineal and phycitid moth, was introduced and was highly effective. [2] It is largely due to this that, in 2002, there was a tenth of the number of prickly pear left when compared with the 1930s. [14]

Opinions on the prickly pear today

H.G. Zimmerman and V. C. Moran argue that, today, permission for such control would not have been given. [15] This is because, with the plant largely under control, public perception of it has, by-and-large been positive. Now that the plant no longer poses as much of a threat and can be kept under control through insects and an injection of MSMA (monosodium methanearsonate), a herbicide which can target individual plants, increasing attention is being given to how the prickly pear can be cultivated and utilised. [16] For fruit, jam, preserves, beer, wine, medicine, fodder and as a host to the cochineal which can be used to produce dye. [15] According to scholars, W. Beinart and L. Wotshela, who interviewed African people in the Eastern Cape about prickly pear usage, much of the use of the prickly pear among African communities had declined by the 21st century (interviews were conducted in the early 2000s). [17] But in some areas, beer production was still thriving in 2002, as was the trade and use of the plant for medicine. [18]

With labour saving techniques and development of new products the plant could be further utilised, which can assist in economic development. [19] In addition, “difficulties of bulk picking, and the nature of the wild fruit itself, have clearly resulted in some space being maintained for harvesting and informal marketing, especially by women” and, therefore, the plant can be particularly in useful in rural development and the economic empowerment of women. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nopal</span> Fruit of the Opuntia cactus

Nopal is a common name in Spanish for Opuntia cacti, as well as for its pads. The name nopal derives from the Nahuatl word nohpalli for the pads of the plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scale insect</span> Superfamily of insects

Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the superfamily Coccoidea due to taxonomic uncertainties. Adult females typically have soft bodies and no limbs, and are concealed underneath domed scales, extruding quantities of wax for protection. Some species are hermaphroditic, with a combined ovotestis instead of separate ovaries and testes. Males, in the species where they occur, have legs and sometimes wings, and resemble small flies. Scale insects are herbivores, piercing plant tissues with their mouthparts and remaining in one place, feeding on sap. The excess fluid they imbibe is secreted as honeydew on which sooty mold tends to grow. The insects often have a mutualistic relationship with ants, which feed on the honeydew and protect them from predators. There are about 8,000 described species.

<i>Opuntia ficus-indica</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia ficus-indica, the Indian fig opuntia, fig opuntia, or prickly pear, is a species of cactus that has long been a domesticated crop plant grown in agricultural economies throughout arid and semiarid parts of the world. O. ficus-indica is the most widespread and most commercially important cactus. It is grown primarily as a fruit crop, and also for the vegetable nopales and other uses. Cacti are good crops for dry areas because they efficiently convert water into biomass. O. ficus-indica, as the most widespread of the long-domesticated cactuses, is as economically important as maize and blue agave in Mexico. Opuntia species hybridize easily, but the wild origin of O. ficus-indica is likely to have been in central Mexico, where its closest genetic relatives are found.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean White-Haney</span> Australian botanist

Rose Ethel Janet White-Haney, known as Jean White-Haney, was a botanist in Queensland, Australia. She was officer-in-charge of the Queensland Board of Advice on Prickly Pear Destruction and helped develop biological control methods for managing the invasive cactus.

<i>Cactoblastis cactorum</i> Species of moth

Cactoblastis cactorum, the cactus moth, South American cactus moth or nopal moth, is native to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil. It is one of five species in the genus Cactoblastis that inhabit South America, where many parasitoids, predators and pathogens control the expansion of the moths' population. This species has been introduced into many areas outside its natural range, including Australia, the Caribbean, and South Africa. In some locations, it has spread uncontrollably and was consequently classified an invasive species. However, in other places such as Australia, it has gained favor for its role in the biological control of cacti from the genus Opuntia, such as prickly pear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Androy</span> Region in Madagascar

Androy is the most southerly region of Madagascar. It covers an area of 19,540 km2, and had a population of 903,376 inhabitants in 2018. The administrative capital is Ambovombe-Androy.

<i>Opuntia stricta</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia stricta is a species of large cactus that is endemic to the subtropical and tropical coastal areas of the Americas, especially around the Caribbean. Common names include erect prickly pear and nopal estricto (Spanish). The first description as Cactus strictus was published in 1803 by Adrian Hardy Haworth. In 1812 he moved the species to the genus Opuntia.

<i>Opuntia phaeacantha</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia phaeacantha is a species of prickly pear cactus known by the common names brown-spine prickly pear, tulip prickly pear, and desert prickly pear found across the southwestern United States, lower Great Plains, and northern Mexico. The plant forms dense but localized thickets. Several varieties of this particular species occur, and it may hybridize with other prickly pears, making identification sometimes tricky.

<i>Opuntia monacantha</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia monacantha, commonly known as drooping prickly pear, cochineal prickly pear, or Barbary fig, is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae native to South America.

<i>Opuntia basilaris</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia basilaris, the beavertail cactus or beavertail pricklypear, is a cactus species found in the southwest United States. It occurs mostly in the Mojave, Anza-Borrego, and Colorado Deserts, as well as in the Colorado Plateau and northwest Mexico. It is also found throughout the Grand Canyon and Colorado River region as well as into southern Utah and Nevada, and in the western Arizona regions along the Lower Colorado River Valley.

<i>Opuntia humifusa</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia humifusa, commonly known as the devil's-tongue, eastern prickly pear or Indian fig, is a cactus of the genus Opuntia present in parts of the eastern United States, Mississippi and northeastern Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cochineal</span> Species of insect producing the crimson dye carmine

The cochineal is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America through North America, this insect lives on cacti in the genus Opuntia, feeding on plant moisture and nutrients. The insects are found on the pads of prickly pear cacti, collected by brushing them off the plants, and dried.

<i>Opuntia</i> Genus of cactus

Opuntia, commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Prickly pear alone is more commonly used to refer exclusively to the fruit, but may also be used for the plant itself; in addition, other names given to the plant and its specific parts include tuna (fruit), sabra, sabbar, nopal from the Nahuatl word nōpalli, nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word nōchtli, and paddle cactus. The genus is named for the Ancient Greek city of Opus, where, according to Theophrastus, an edible plant grew and could be propagated by rooting its leaves. The most common culinary species is the Indian fig opuntia (O. ficus-indica).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prickly pears in Australia</span> Invasive cacti in Australia

Prickly pears include a number of plant species that were introduced and have become invasive in Australia.

<i>Opuntia aurantiaca</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia aurantiaca, commonly known as tiger-pear, jointed cactus or jointed prickly-pear, is a species of cactus from South America. The species occurs naturally in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and is considered an invasive species in Africa and Australia.

<i>Opuntia macrocentra</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia macrocentra, the long-spined purplish prickly pear or purple pricklypear, is a cactus found in the lower Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. A member of the prickly pear genus, this species of Opuntia is most notable as one of a few cacti that produce a purple pigmentation in the stem. Other common names for this plant include black-spined pricklypear, long-spine prickly pear, purple pricklypear, and redeye prickly pear.

<i>Dactylopius</i> Genus of insects

Dactylopius is a genus of insect in the superfamily Coccoidea, the scale insects. It is the only genus in the family Dactylopiidae. These insects are known commonly as cochineals, a name that also specifically refers to the best-known species, the cochineal. The cochineal is an insect of economic and historical importance as a main source of the red dye carmine. It has reportedly been used for this purpose in the Americas since the 10th century. Genus Dactylopius is also important because several species have been used as agents of biological pest control, and because several are known as invasive species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Harvey Johnston</span> Australian biologist and parasitologist

Thomas Harvey Johnston was an Australian biologist and parasitologist. He championed the efforts to eradicate the invasive prickly pear.

Opuntia chiangiana, commonly known as Chiang's prickly pear or the Xoconostle, is a species of prickly pear cactus in the family Cactaceae. It was described by Léia Scheinvar and Gladys Manzanero in 2009. The species was named in honor of Fernando Chiang, who was a professor at the Institute of Biology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

<i>Dactylopius opuntiae</i> Species of scale insect

Dactylopius opuntiae, also known as the prickly pear cochineal, is a species of scale insect in the family Dactylopiidae.

References

  1. 1 2 van Sittert, 2002. p. 400
  2. 1 2 3 Zimmermann and Moran, 1991. p. 29
  3. ↑ van Sittert, 2002. p. 399
  4. 1 2 van Sittert, 2002. p. 403
  5. ↑ Beinart and Wotshela, 2003. p. 191
  6. ↑ Beinart and Wotshela, 2003. pp. 198-200
  7. ↑ Beinart and Wotshela, 2003. pp. 190, 201
  8. 1 2 van Sittert, 2002. p. 406
  9. 1 2 Beinart and Wotshela, 2003. p. 190
  10. 1 2 3 van Sittert, 2002. p. 404
  11. ↑ van Sittert, 2002. p. 407
  12. ↑ van Sittert, 2002. p. 409
  13. ↑ van Sittert, 2002. p. 410
  14. ↑ Zimmermann and Moran, 1991. p. 31
  15. 1 2 Zimmermann and Moran, 1991. p. 33
  16. ↑ Zimmermann and Moran, 1991. p. 34
  17. ↑ Beinart and Wotshela, 2003.
  18. ↑ Beinart and Wotshela, 2003. pp. 200-201
  19. ↑ Beinart and Wotshela, 2003. p. 209
  20. ↑ Beinart and Wotshela, 2003. p. 204

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.