Cordage from prickly pear roots?

Digging up a couple of patches of prickly pear in my pasture this week and noticed how long, thin and tough the roots are. It got me to wondering if they would be suitable for cordage or do they get brittle when they dry? Anyone ever heard of their use or other uses for prickly pear? Aggravating things must be good for something other than training you to watch where you step.

SGADawg said:

Digging up a couple of patches of prickly pear in my pasture this week and noticed how long, thin and tough the roots are. It got me to wondering if they would be suitable for cordage or do they get brittle when they dry? Anyone ever heard of their use or other uses for prickly pear? Aggravating things must be good for something other than training you to watch where you step.

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Give it a try! I have not dug one up to find out. I have eaten the pads after removing the skin and spines (raw or cooked). But since you mentioned it, now I am going to have to go find out for myself.

The inner pad that is edible can be put on burns, stings, and wounds to soothe pain similar to Aloe. The seeds can be ground for flour while the fruit is edible. Make fish hooks out of the spines.

http://www.eattheweeds.com/cactus-dont-be-spineless/

http://www.jonsbushcraft.com/fishing hook.htm

Thanks Robert for the tutorial very interesting, and I always like watching someone else do it first.

TNGIRL said:

Thanks Robert for the tutorial very interesting, and I always like watching someone else do it first.

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Haha. That ain't my first rodeo with Prickly Pear. I am well acquainted with it in more ways than one. Ouch.

It has recently come to my attention from photos and an account of a particular variety out West that has glochids in the inner pad or flesh that is definitely not edible. So for a word of caution, careful examining by sight and feel of the inner pad or flesh is important to make sure that it is edible. This particular variety seems to have many more spines on the outer skin or surface area than the more common varieties.

I have included the above paragraph in my video description. Here is the thread that has brought this to my attention. Unfortunately the photos in the thread are only viewable for members but posts provide the member's experience with it. The member in question did not handle or examine the inner pad before eating and the result was not a nice one.

http://eattheweeds.com/forum/index.php/topic,5840.msg51099.html#new