Skip to main content

History of the prickly pear

Broadcast 
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Car tyre covered in prickly cactus
Hudson Pear has the ability to pierce tyres.  (Supplied: NSW DPI)

We were planning to talk about the history of weeds in Australia but, when the chat turned to the dreaded prickly pear, the focus became Australia's unwelcome cacti.

Pav even got a call from the president of the Prickly Pear Museum in Chinchilla.

Garrick van Dyk, lecturer in history at the University of Newcastle, helped us get among the weeds.

Credits

Broadcast 
Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Canberra, Darwin, Newcastle, Biology, Plants, Weeds - Horticulture
QR code image for downloading the ABC listen app

Discover more podcasts

Download the ABC listen app to hear more of your favourite podcasts