Definition of "prickly pear" []

• Any of various cacti of the genus Opuntia, having bristly, flattened or cylindrical joints, showy, usually yellow flowers, and ovoid, often prickly fruit. (noun)
• The often edible fruit of such a cactus. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "A typical result is the seven subspecies of marine iguana—or the five species of endemic Galápagos gecko within the genus Phyllodactylus, or the seven species of Galapagos lava lizard within the genus Tropidurus, or the six species of Galápagos prickly pear within the genus Opuntia, or the fourteen subspecies of Galápagos tortoise."
• "On either side of the asphalted surface, the sun-scorched earth was landscaped into a desert garden that utilized the native prickly pear and saguaro cactus and scrubby palo verde to achieve its effect."