Opuntia also native to sandy coastal beach scrub environments of the East Coast from Florida to southern Connecticut ("Opuntia humifusa"). "Opuntia" species are the most cold-tolerant of the lowland cacti, extending into western and southern Canada; one subspecies, "O. fragilis" var. "fragilis", has been found growing along the Beatton River in central British Columbia, southwest of Cecil Lake at 56° 17’ N latitude and 120° 39’ W longitude. Prickly pears also produce a fruit, commonly eaten in Mexico and in the Mediterranean region, known as "tuna"; it also is used to make "aguas frescas". The fruit can be red, wine-red, green,
Opuntia ficus-indica the plants are used as fodder. In these cases, the spines need to be removed from the pads to avoid damage to the animals. Mostly, this is achieved by burning the spines off the pads. "Opuntia ficus-indica" for human and animal consumption is its water content in an arid environment, containing about 85% water as a water source for wildlife. The seeds contain 3-10% of protein and 6-13% of fatty acids, mainly linoleic acid. As the fruit contains vitamin C (containing 25–30 mg per 100g), it was once used to mitigate scurvy. "Opuntia" contains selenium. The red color of the