Last updated: February 19, 2021
Place
Prickly Pear Cactus-1
What is prickly pear cactus doing in New Jersey? It's actually a native plant on our beaches. Before Europeans arrived here, the Lenni Lenape, a Native American tribe that lived in what is now New Jersey, ate the fresh fruits or dried them for later use. Today, box turtles and Eastern cottontail rabbits eat the cactus for food and water. In the winter, rabbits feed on bark and twigs.