A Sweet Success: Harvesting the Oklahoma Prickly Pear

While Oklahomans spent the early summer admiring the butter-yellow blooms of the native Prickly Pear cactus, late summer brings the most anticipated turn in the plant’s annual lifecycle.

The showy flowers of Opuntia macrorhiza have given way to vibrant, purplish-red berries, known traditionally as tunas, signals that the seasonal fruit harvest is officially underway across Oklahoma.

Rich in potassium, vitamin C, and fiber, the ripe fruit offers a distinct, tart sweetness prized for use in jellies, desserts, and summer beverages. However, gathering the ripe tunas requires the same steady caution as the spring pad harvest.