Opuntia for wounds and inflammation of the digestive and urinary tracts, although there is no high-quality evidence for any clinical benefit of using opuntia for these purposes. "Dactylopius coccus" is a scale insect from which cochineal dye is derived. "D. coccus" itself is native to tropical and subtropical South America and Mexico. This insect, a primarily sessile parasite, lives on cacti from the genus "Opuntia", feeding on moisture and nutrients in the cactus sap. The insect produces carminic acid, which deters predation by other insects. The carminic acid can be extracted from the insect's body and eggs to make the red
Plant functional type key parameters are defined, such as fecundity, competitiveness, resorption (rate at which plant decays and returns nutrients to the soil after death), etc.; the value of each parameter is determined or inferred from observable characteristics such as plant height, leaf area, etc. Climatologists and ecologists struggle to determine which minimal set of plant characteristics best model the actual responses of the biosphere in response to climate changes. Plant functional type Plant functional types (PFTs) is a system used by climatologists to classify plants according to their physical, phylogenetic and phenological characteristics as part of an overall effort to develop a