РІР‚СљObviously cacti have significant aesthetic appeal to a lot of people, which has caused cactus societies to spring up around the world,РІР‚Сњ Trager notes. Of course! For one thing, theyРІР‚в„ўre pretty cool to look at. This is the part where you tell me cactuses arenРІР‚в„ўt all bad, isnРІР‚в„ўt it? After four or five slices, the offending glochid came away. Puente-Martinez advised him to start eating the white bread the server had brought out earlier. Apparently, the fruit had not been cleaned quite thoroughly enough, and the man wound up with a glochid lodged in the roof of his mouth. The trick served him well again several months ago when he attended a conference and one the other attendees ordered prickly pears for lunch. His theory is that as your saliva moistens the blob of bread, it becomes sticky enough to pull out the spine. РІР‚СљI had it there for a couple of days it was really bothering me.РІР‚Сњ He finally dislodged the glochid by chewing bread. РІР‚СљI turned around and swallowed the little glochid,РІР‚Сњ he says. The aptly-named feather cactus ( Mammillaria plumosa) has soft spines that diffuse sunlight. He had gently grabbed the spine with his teeth and was just about to spit it out when one of the people working on the plants nearby asked him a question. РІР‚СљYou might get the spine, but the glochid might then stick in your tongue, or in your lip, and then youРІР‚в„ўre going to have that reaction in your mouth or in your lip and you wonРІР‚в„ўt be a happy camper.РІР‚СњР”Р„nother painful possibility is that the barb will embed itself in your throat, which is exactly what once happened to Puente-Martinez (and is the reason why he strongly recommends you do not try this method at home, or ever). РІР‚СљLetРІР‚в„ўs just say youРІР‚в„ўve hit a cactus with your wrist or your arm, and you reach down with your mouth to pull out and spit it out,РІР‚Сњ Dieter says. The straight spines found on cactuses like the saguaro are the easiest to pull free, while barbed cholla spears or hooked spines like those found on barrel cactuses will-not surprisingly-take a little more work. You can try working larger, needle-like spines out with a pair of tweezers. What you should do next depends on the kind of spine youРІР‚в„ўre dealing with. If the spines are embedded in your hand and you donРІР‚в„ўt have any tools handy, you can also try bending over, stepping on the stem joint, and tugging your hand free, although this will likely cause a bit more bleeding as the spines are pulled away.

You can also use the teeth of a comb to work the stem and some of the spines free. Use a pair of scissors or pliers to clip the spines attached to the stem, leaving about half-inch segments of spine behind in your skin, he advises. Puente-Martinez also recommends removing the chunk of stem the spines are attached to before dealing with the individual prickers, as he did on the occasion in Mexico when his friendРІР‚в„ўs lip became a pincushion.

Soft thorns on cactus