Edible Fruits of the High Andes

Common name: Prickly pear
Quechua name: Warqu, waqur
Spanish name: Cactus, tuna silvestre
Scientific name: Opuntia floccosa

Prickly pear fruits are very small, usually between 3.5 and 4.0 centimeters long. After the rainy season, the fruits ripen from yellow to orange. When we found these on our field trip we enjoyed eating them because they are really sweet!