Prickly Pears:
O. ficus-indica, O. Engelmanii, O. strigil, O. dulcis. Are there other species you are aware of that actually produce good quality fruit for eating?
Dragonfruit:
H. undatus - Common red dragon fruit found in grocery stores, any others?
Peruvian Apple Cactus:
C. repandus peruvianus
Echinocereus:
Only one I have here is E. engelmanii, the Strawberry Hedgehog which is reported to have good tasting fruit. This is such a large genus though that its impossible to guess which are good or not.
Stenocereus:
There are a lot here. S. thurberi, S. griseus, S. fricii, S. pruinosus are all reported to have good tasting fruit
Corryocactus brevistylus - Guacalla reportedly eaten by locals in Peru
Cylindropuntia imbracata - Cholla supposedly has good tasting fruit, I've seen these in SoCal but never picked one
Carnegeia gigantea - Saguaro - I have two of these but I'll probably be dead before I ever get to taste a fruit from one although they are reported to be good
Echinocactus platycantha - Giant barrel cactus. The flesh of these used to be made into a cactus candy called Biznaga in Mexico before the practice was banned when they became endangered there. I'm growing a few with the aim of trying to make this someday
Copao:
Eulychnia has several species referred to as Copao whos fruits are eaten. E. acida, E. breviflora, and E. castanea are all eaten
Prickly Apples:
Harissia also has several species that reportedly produce good fruit. H. fragrans, H. simpsonii, H. bonplandi, and H. tetracantha are the specific species I could find
Mammillaria:
Another gigantic genus. M. diocia is referred to as the Strawberry Cactus due to the taste of its fruit but I've not found anything concrete about other species so far.
Polaskia chichipe - Known as Chichipe with fruit eaten by locals.
Pachycereus pringlei - Fruits supposedly taste like molasses and are made into a drink
Myrtillocactus geometrizans - Blue Candle Cactus. Fruits are known as garumbullo and are sold/eaten. Not sure about other species in this genus.
Ferocactus:
Ferocactus pilosus - Another oddball where the flowers are sometimes eaten in Mexico as part of a dessert. Not sure about other Ferocactus species.
Would love to hear any other species of any genus you are aware of that are used/collected for culinary use!
