Prickly Pear Tree

A robust forest area of prickly pear trees adorns beautifully the cobblestone that connects the settlement of Ntentianika with the ravine and the spring. Every village in Kythera has at least a few prickly pears trees (Opuntia ficus-indica) in a garden or a slope. Its cultivation is very widespread, but not systematic. Usually people plant them on the edges of flower beds, fields and orchards, sometimes to [delimit] outline them with dry stone walls. Although it originates from central Mexico, this plant has been fully adapted to the conditions of the Mediterranean. While in some places, prickly pears trees exhibits invasive behavior by displacing other species of local vegetation, in Kythera, as well as in many other parts of Greece, it coexists with the other species harmoniously. Because it grows well in poor and dry soils, locals use it mainly for its delicious fruit but also to make homemade jam. Prickly pears have high nutritional value due to vitamin C, antioxidants and trace elements, while they are low in calories.