Prickly pear (Opuntia
compressa and ficus-indica)
Like the prickly pear, there are many members of the cacti family that produce fruit.
The prickly pear we have available
O. compressa, is sprawling in habit but quite a bit hardier than most cacti. It can survive outdoors in the warmer parts of the UK but would need sheltering from too much wet and frost. A gritty, free draining soil is essential and they are likely to perform better with some extra heat, but as they happily grow in large pots, they could inhabit a conservatory or windowsill with pleasure.
They have beautiful big yellow flowers, hopefully followed by delicious sweet fruit from about 4cm in size which could be either yellow, orange, red or purple in colour. Just pick, peal and eat.