Echinocereus Fruit - Safe to eat?

Created by popular request. Share what you know about man's past and present use of cacti.
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cooky173
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Echinocereus Fruit - Safe to eat?

Post by cooky173 »

Does anyone know if there are any Echinocereus fruit you shouldn't eat?

I have some Engelmanni's growing, hoping to get fruit off next year

Also, the fruit of a pentalphous has a slight lemony taste
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angelo
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Post by angelo »

for what I know:
engelmannii stramineus, fendleri,cinerascens,ledingii and enneacanthus,can be eaten,
of the other species I don't have news :)
daiv
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Post by daiv »

I think when it comes to cactus fruit, it is all about texture and not so much about chemicals.

In other words, if the fruit is soft and juicy, it is good to eat. Fruit that is dry and hard is not good, but not because it is poisonous or anything like that.
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
ilex
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Post by ilex »

I only know of one or two cases were caci fruits are said to be hallucinogenic. Note the "are said". In general it's more a matter of taste, spines etc...

Echinocereus have some of the best tasting fruit I've ever tasted. Some are eaten as vegetables (the plant).
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Peterthecactusguy
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Post by Peterthecactusguy »

I know that some of the Natives in Arizona used to eat the fruits of E. engelmannii and a few others. The spines are said to fall off easily when the fruits are ripe. I have taken one for the seeds and it was a pain, guess it wasn't ripe yet.
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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king_hedes
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Post by king_hedes »

I used to just rub the E. engelmannii fruits on my shirt till all the thorns came off but it was always a pain later.I stomach would all ways be itchy from all the glikids
Now i think the best way is to just cut all the spines off in little cones
plant zone 9a
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