woody with a view
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cardon cactus fruit
there are many types of cactus fruit that are edible and i got to thinking that i'd never heard mention of anyone climbing a 40 foot cardon to get at
the fruit. has anyone had any culinary experience with these?
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Alex
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the inside looks almost exactly like a pitayaha - which I love but has a different exterior.
Where was the photo taken?
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bajaandy
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I don't have an answer to your question, but I have seen long sticks or poles leaning against those tall giants of the desert. I've often wondered if
they were used to pick the fruits.
subvert the dominant paradigm
"If you travel with a man, you must either fall out with him or make him your good friend."
JBL Noel
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woody with a view
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| Quote: |
Where was the photo taken?
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40 feet up a cardon....
in the area that shall not be named!
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Russ
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Weird how, like the pitaya fruit, there are ones with whit fruit and pink or red fruit.
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Pescador
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I have eaten them and they are OK but do not compare to the Pitayaha Dulce or Agria. The indians picked them with a long basket on a pole, cut off
the spines, then split them and eat the insides with a spoon.
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Russ
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I knew I'd misspelled Pitayaha but that's the way I pronounce it. Must be an indian name cuz I don't think Spanish would use a double "a". Anyway, I
like them both but the reds I like better. Here, I think, is an Pitayaha flower which would mean they're ready to do their thing. If we'd only get a
little rain.
[Edited on 7-26-2008 by Russ]
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Taco de Baja
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My favorite is the old man cactus (Pachycereus schottii), it's fairly easy to pick, and tastes like a cross between a watermelon, a
strawberry and a fig. It's in the same genus as the Cardon (Pachycereus pringlei) .
Truth generally lies in the coordination of antagonistic opinions
-Herbert Spencer
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Russ
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That senita fruit looks really tasty. We have a cactus that looks the same/similar but I've never seen them with fruit.
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Pescador
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Now if you want a real authentic Early Indian experience, try "Second Harvest Fruit". The indians would literally gorge themselves on Pitayaha,
Cardon, and Old Man Cactus fruit during the season when they were ripe and ready. Since they had long ago learned that there would be times later in
the year that they had nothing to eat, they defecated in a certain area and saved the piles of fecal material that were loaded with seeds of the
cactus fruit and since it was in the desert things dried very well, so later in the season when they had very little to eat, they were able to
separate the seeds and either roast them or just crack them open to eat. This was also practiced by the Seri indians on the mainland and in fact they
would pack the fecal material in shells to be buried with the dead so that they might have something to "snack on" during their heavenly journey.
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Russ
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Pescador , You are an absolute fountain of ~~~~ 
Can't wait to hear how your piles came out...... or can we just wash and roast toast our seeds?
Pretty cool survival skills. I'll bet you have a few more of those native tricks to share?
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bajajudy
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This looks like the Senita
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bajajudy
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Russ
Here is a close up of yours
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Russ
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bajajudy , Yours is prettier!
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Cypress
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Pecador, That puts a whole new meaning to the phrase "eat s---".
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