1/27/2024 0 Comments Prickly pear artpaper![]() The above factors led some farmers to put pressure on the colonial administration to fund and make compulsory the eradication of the plant. In addition, it was believed that thieves and vagrants could hide in the plants and live on their fruit. In addition, the plant was seen to have a negative effect on availability of labour as it “allowed blacks and poor whites to elude wage labour for half the year by harvesting and selling the fruit crop”, and the alcohol made from it was seen to make people “unfit for labour”. The plant could degrade the land to the extent where it could no longer be used for pastoral farming and could have a detrimental effect on stock. To many farmers and the colonial administration, the pear was not seen as an asset but as an invader, come to conquer farming land and drive white farmers into poverty. Many of both black and white inhabitants of the areas in which the prickly pear was prominent came to rely on the plant as a useful asset to be eaten, prepared, sold or used as fodder and, consequently, there were groups of people who had a very positive attitude towards the plant, with one farmer of the time going so far as to say that “there is nothing better in this country”. In addition, prickly pear can be useful fodder, particularly during drought, when few other plants survive. The fruit can be eaten or turned into jams, preserves, beers, wines and soaps and the leaves can be used as medication. The plant was used by a variety of people: It has “been, at some time, of importance to white commercial farmers, farmworkers, African landholders and urban communities”. Part of what facilitated the spread of the prickly pear was its utility. It thrived in these regions, where the original vegetation had already been disturbed by settlers. When it established itself in the Eastern Cape and Karoo, it took control of the environment around it because of being drought resistant, able to reproduce without seeds as well as its “extensive seed dispersal”. It was proposed to be used as a “living fence”, to separate and protect property but, in the Western Cape, it became, in effect, more of an interesting feature in gardens. The prickly pear was brought to South Africa, from the Americas, in the mid-18th century. Opuntia ficus-indica (known as the prickly pear) is a plant that has been part of the landscape of South Africa for over 250 years. Please introduce links to this page from related articles try the Find link tool for suggestions. This article is an orphan, as no other articles link to it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |