A prickly pear is a type of cactus with flat, paddle-shaped stems covered in sharp spines. These cacti grow wild across deserts in the Americas and have spread to warm, dry regions around the world. The “pear” part of the name comes from the egg-shaped fruit that grows on the cactus, which, despite the plant's fierce appearance, is actually edible and quite sweet.

The fruit starts out green and ripens to deep purple, red, or yellow. People have eaten prickly pear fruit for thousands of years, carefully removing the tiny hairlike spines called glochids before cutting through the thick skin to reach the juicy flesh inside. The taste is often described as a mix between watermelon and bubble gum. In Mexico, where the prickly pear appears on the national flag, people also cook and eat the cactus pads themselves, calling them nopales.

The term prickly pear can also describe someone with a tough, spiky exterior who might actually be kind underneath, much like the cactus itself: sharp on the outside, sweet on the inside. Desert animals like javelinas and pack rats have learned to navigate the spines to reach the nutritious fruit and moisture the cactus provides.