Hawaiian Plant Guide
Prickly Pear
Learn about prickly pear, a tree-sized cactus known in Hawaiian as panini. This spiny plant grows in drier parts of Hawaii and bears red or yellow-green fruit along its flat green pads.
Prickly Pear Overview
This plant is an unusual sight for many visitors to Hawaii, who are expecting colorful blossoms like hibiscus and plumeria. The prickly pear is a tree-sized cactus. Its Hawaiian name is Panini, meaning “very unfriendly wall.” The plant has green plates with spines sticking out. It also bears red or green-yellow fruits, which grow along the edges of the plates.
