A cactus yielding tangy prickly pears, called tuna in Mexico. The spines need to be carefully removed before they are cooked, say by dicing and boiling in a little salted water with flavourings such as garlic and onions. The resulting vegetable is rather like crunchy green beans. They produce an okra-like slippery slime which needs to be removed by rinsing after cooking. They are usually mixed with tomatoes and coriander (US: cilantro) to make a salad.
