THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
APRIL,  i8q6. 
OPUNTIA  VULGARIS,  MILL. 
By  Bertha  l.  DeGraffe. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
The  Cactaceae,  or  family  of  plants  to  which  Opuntia  vulgaris 
belongs,  is  an  American  aboriginal.  But  the  name  Opuntia,  that 
Tournefort  gave  to  the  large  genus  of  mainly  tropical  cactuses, 
which  includes  the  subject  of  this  paper,  was  applied  to  an  entirely- 
different  plant  by  Theophrastus,  a  few  centuries  before  the  present 
era.  This  name  is  believed  to  have  been  taken  from  that  of  Opus, 
a  city  which  was  then  situated  in  the  ancient  State  of  Bceotia,  but 
whose  site  is  now  in  modern  Locris.  Since  the  discovery  of  America, 
however,  several  of  the  species  have  been  naturalized  to  the  Medi- 
terranean region  and  now  grow  there  abundantly.  The  juice  of 
Opuntia  tuna  is  said  to  be  used  in  Naples  as  a  rich  carmine  pig- 
ment. 
The  members  of  this  genus,  or  their  pear-shaped  and  often 
prickly  fruits,  are  popularly  designated  as  prickly  pears  or  Indian 
figs. 
Opuntia  vulgaris  is  indigenous  to  the  West  Indies  and  near  the 
east  coast  of  North  America,  northward  to  Massachusetts,  growing 
more  abundantly  in  southern  climes.  The  specific  name  vulgaris 
well  signifies  the  profusion  in  which  the  plant  may  be  found  grow- 
ing wild  in  some  parts  of  this  territory,  while  further  westward  and 
southwestward  several  other  species  of  Opuntia  are  so  plentiful  as 
to  be  troublesome  to  agriculturists. 
Pharmacy,  No.  151. 
(169) 
