The prickly ... gorgeous flowers. Depending on the variety, the colors may be bright shades of pink, red, orange, or yellow.

It's understandable why you might have mistaken your prickly pear for a Christmas cactus. Upon first look, they seem the same - both with a succulent-cacti form and orange or pink flowers.

Ortenzi is convinced the hardy and versatile cactus pear, otherwise called the prickly pear or ... while Peru and Chile use it to extract a red dye known as Cochineal, used in food and cosmetic ...