• At Lac du Salagou, a species of cactus resists, despite regular uprooting.

  • Although the volumes have clearly decreased since its discovery in 2005, they nevertheless seem to be stabilizing, proof of the extreme resilience of the species.

  • A sting of Opuntia rosea

    may require minor surgery.

Perhaps you had the painful experience of an encounter with an Opuntia rosea during a walk on Lake Salagou, in Hérault.

This cactus native to Central America, with sharp prickles, takes it easy in this little corner of paradise.

And confronting it is particularly unpleasant.

“It stings a lot!

“says an employee of a nautical base in Salagou.

“We end up with lots of little bits of needles that we can't remove.

»

The prickles of these pesky cacti are "so long and so hard that they even sometimes fit into shoes", explains Laurent Retière, environmental inspector at the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), in the Herault.

Cruel to the end, they have, at the end of their spines, a “small cuticle, which remains inside the flesh.

It has micro-teeth, and you can't remove it by hand.

We often have to do minor local surgery.”

"A very small piece of the cactus manages to form roots and start again"

Since 2009, however, once or twice a year, uprooting campaigns have eliminated a good part of it.

On April 2, agents from the OFB, the Syndicat mixte de gestion du grand site du Salagou and the town hall of Celles, supported by around twenty cadets from the gendarmerie, surveyed the slopes of Cébérou, above the village from these.

With great blows of pickaxes, they decimated many cacti.

Two full containers.

Without gloves, because it's useless: the quills pierce them.

But cacti, there are always a few left.

Or little bits.

The problem is “that a very small piece of the cactus manages to form roots, and to start again, confides Laurent Retière.

And after one or two years, it is the size of a normal cactus”.

However, the volumes have clearly decreased since its discovery in Salagou in 2005. Years ago, some reached 1.50 meters high.

However, the populations seem to be stabilizing, proof of the extreme resilience of the species.

No way to get rid of it, except tearing

"For the moment, we are not able to eradicate it completely", explains the inspector of the environment.

They move very easily, via herds of animals or wild boars.

The origin of its establishment in Salagou remains unknown, but it could well be a person who simply got rid of a specimen decades ago.

A specimen that has colonized the lake and its surroundings in a few years.

For now, there is no other way to destroy these invasive, "very, very resistant" cacti other than pulling them out.

Spraying a product would be useless, and even dangerous for the ecosystem.

“These are resistant plants, confides Laurent Retière.

And around, there are other plants, which we risk killing.

Despite the regular uprooting campaigns, it is therefore advisable to remain cautious at Lac du Salagou.

Spreading out his towel.

Or running for a splash.

And in the event of significant discoveries, walkers can report them to the OFB of Hérault.

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