{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.nopal","code":"thing-q3367716","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q3367716/","name":"nopal","alternateNames":["Kasugai cactus"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.MAT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Nopal is a flattened stem segment, or cladode, of a prickly-pear cactus of the genus Opuntia, especially Opuntia ficus-indica, commonly eaten as a vegetable when young and tender.","purpose":"Enable an agent to identify nopal, assess its physical condition and preparation state, and determine suitable handling or use from documented identity and provenance.","scope":{"in":["Regional, botanical and commercial usage relevant to identifying a cactus pad as nopal is in scope.","Cladode identity and its relationship to the source plant are in scope.","Pad maturity, dimensions, tenderness and tissue condition are in scope.","Spine and glochid presence and removal state are in scope.","Harvest provenance, storage history and preparation state are in scope.","Evidence supporting a proposed food, planting or other use of the pad is in scope."],"out":["Complete taxonomy and life cycle of the source cactus species","Prickly pear fruit as a separate harvested organ","Cultivation enterprises and plantation management","Recipes and prepared dishes containing nopal","Extracts, supplements and therapeutic efficacy claims","Complete livestock diets incorporating cactus material"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Assign this record to cactus pad material rather than to a whole cactus or a mixed prepared dish.","Establish cladode identity rather than treating a flat green organ as sufficient identification.","Distinguish a stem pad from the cactus fruit by organ identity and attachment evidence.","Record source species independently: the common name alone does not establish a species determination.","Distinguish intact pad material from powders, extracts and mixed dishes whose processing requires neighbouring models."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"nopal-identity-and-boundary","name":"Nopal identity and boundary","description":"Establish what the name denotes and which physical material this record represents.","layers":[{"id":"name-and-referent","name":"Name and referent","description":"Resolve the meaning of the supplied name in its actual context.","findings":[{"id":"referent-determination","name":"Referent determination","description":"Record evidence for interpreting nopal as a plant, cladode or ingredient.","questions":[{"text":"Does nopal denote the whole cactus, a pad or a food ingredient in the originating record?","id":"referent-determination-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which language, region, label or source establishes that interpretation?","id":"referent-determination-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"botanical-and-organ-identity","name":"Botanical and organ identity","description":"Separate source taxon identification from recognition of the harvested organ.","findings":[{"id":"source-plant-and-cladode","name":"Source plant and cladode","description":"Establish the plant relationship and evidence that the material is a cladode.","questions":[{"text":"What observations or source records establish the plant's taxon, and with what confidence?","id":"source-plant-and-cladode-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What establishes that this material is a stem pad rather than fruit or another organ?","id":"source-plant-and-cladode-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"pad-development-and-quality","name":"Pad development and quality","description":"Characterise the pad as biological material whose suitability changes with development and damage.","layers":[{"id":"development-and-grading","name":"Development and grading","description":"Relate pad measurements and developmental evidence to a stated intended use.","findings":[{"id":"maturity-and-tenderness","name":"Maturity and tenderness","description":"Record developmental stage independently from size and appearance.","questions":[{"text":"What are the pad's dimensions, mass and observed developmental stage?","id":"maturity-and-tenderness-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which tenderness or fibre assessment supports its proposed vegetable grade?","id":"maturity-and-tenderness-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"tissue-integrity","name":"Tissue integrity","description":"Document wounds, water-loss indicators and other departures from expected tissue condition.","findings":[{"id":"pad-condition-assessment","name":"Pad condition assessment","description":"Keep observed defects separate from their suspected causes and disposition.","questions":[{"text":"Where and to what extent does the pad show shrivelling, discoloration, wounds or soft tissue?","id":"pad-condition-assessment-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What evidence distinguishes expected cut-surface exudate from deterioration in this preparation state?","id":"pad-condition-assessment-q02","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which observed defects require trimming, holding or rejection under the intended-use criteria?","id":"pad-condition-assessment-q03","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"armature-and-preparation","name":"Armature and preparation","description":"Track surface inspection and the operations that turn an intact pad into a usable ingredient.","layers":[{"id":"spine-and-glochid-control","name":"Spine and glochid control","description":"Assess conspicuous spines and fine surface armature separately.","findings":[{"id":"armature-removal-verification","name":"Armature removal verification","description":"Record removal methods and the inspection supporting the resulting state.","questions":[{"text":"What inspection establishes the presence or absence of spines and glochids on this pad?","id":"armature-removal-verification-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which removal and subsequent verification steps are appropriate for its intended handling or use?","id":"armature-removal-verification-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"ingredient-transformation","name":"Ingredient transformation","description":"Record trimming, washing, cutting and treatment without absorbing a recipe model.","findings":[{"id":"preparation-history","name":"Preparation history","description":"Identify which operations changed the pad and when a separate product record becomes necessary.","questions":[{"text":"Which trimming, washing, cutting, cooking or preservation operations have been performed, and when?","id":"preparation-history-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"At what transformation does this record become an input to a dish, extract or other product model?","id":"preparation-history-q02","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What texture and exudate characteristics are required by the intended preparation?","id":"preparation-history-q03","kind":"definition"}]}]}]},{"id":"harvest-storage-and-use-routing","name":"Harvest, storage and use routing","description":"Connect pad provenance and storage exposure to evidence for a proposed next action.","layers":[{"id":"harvest-and-storage-history","name":"Harvest and storage history","description":"Maintain traceability from the source plant through the current physical state.","findings":[{"id":"lot-exposure-record","name":"Lot exposure record","description":"Capture harvest and storage evidence at the level needed to assess this pad or lot.","questions":[{"text":"Where and when was the nopal harvested, and which producer, plant or lot records identify its origin?","id":"lot-exposure-record-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What temperature, duration and packaging exposures followed harvest and each preparation step?","id":"lot-exposure-record-q02","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which documented storage criteria apply to this species, maturity and product form?","id":"lot-exposure-record-q03","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"use-specific-disposition","name":"Use-specific disposition","description":"Assess each proposed destination using its own evidence requirements.","findings":[{"id":"food-or-propagation-routing","name":"Food or propagation routing","description":"Keep food suitability and planting suitability as separate determinations.","questions":[{"text":"What identification, treatment-history and condition evidence supports food use for this material?","id":"food-or-propagation-routing-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"If propagation is intended, what evidence establishes viable planting material and locally applicable planting constraints?","id":"food-or-propagation-routing-q02","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which missing evidence requires holding the material rather than assigning its proposed destination?","id":"food-or-propagation-routing-q03","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of nopal this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of nopal this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of nopal this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of nopal this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of nopal this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of nopal this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Identify nopal pads and describe their documented food uses and preparation state.","Describe hazards associated with spines and glochids without giving preparation instructions.","Record pad provenance, source plant identity and cultivated or wild origin."],"mustNot":["Recommend nopal as a cure for diabetes or other diseases without clinical evidence.","Help introduce Opuntia into regions where it is a declared invasive weed.","Collect wild pads from protected land without permission.","Misrepresent the cultural significance of nopal in Mexican heritage."],"requiresHuman":["Planting or moving viable pads in a region where Opuntia is regulated as invasive requires human oversight."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Nopal is central to Mexican food culture and national symbolism.","Opuntia has become a damaging invader in some countries."],"affectedParties":["People who eat it","Farmers and growers","Ecosystems where it is invasive"]},"owners":{"steward":"Growers or land managers are responsible for attached pads within their remit, and harvesters, suppliers or holders are responsible for harvested pads in their custody.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Harvest, inventory and food traceability records document harvested pads where available.","Herbarium and biodiversity occurrence databases can document source plant identity and provenance."]},"relations":[{"target":"Q9323487","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.nopal","Wikidata: Q3367716 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3367716)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Referent form: whole plant | attached cladode | harvested cladode | cut ingredient | unresolved","Source plant identity: linked plant or taxon record, identification method and confidence","Pad developmental stage: emerging | young | mature | woody | unknown, with assessment basis","Pad dimensions: length and width in cm; thickness in mm; measurement positions recorded","Fresh mass: g per pad or kg per lot, with trimming state and measurement time","Surface armature: spines and glochids assessed separately: present | removed with inspection | not detected | unexamined","Tissue condition: firmness, shrivelling, discoloration, wounds, soft areas and visible growth recorded separately","Preparation state: untrimmed | trimmed | washed | cut | cooked | preserved, with process history","Harvest and lot provenance: source plant or producer, location, harvest date, lot and treatment records","Storage exposure: temperature in °C and elapsed time in h or days, with packaging and preparation state"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["An intact pad is a flattened, often oval and green stem segment that may be attached to a plant or harvested.","Clusters of spines and tiny barbed bristles may occur on the pad.","Fruit may grow on an attached pad but is a separate organ outside this sense."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Resolve whether a nopal-labelled item is a plant, pad or ingredient and link neighbouring records.","Inspect and grade pads by documented maturity, dimensions, tenderness and defects.","Select handling and armature-removal steps, then record verification.","Route identified material for food preparation or propagation using separate suitability criteria.","Track harvest, trimming, cutting and storage through a traceable lot history.","Hold material for further identification or assessment when evidence is insufficient."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Tiny barbed bristles lodge in skin and eyes and are hard to remove.","Opuntia spreads aggressively where it is not native."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["The General Principles of Food Hygiene, CXC 1-1969, issued by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, applies to hygienic handling and processing of nopal pads intended as food."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Nopal pads are encountered on prickly-pear cacti and as harvested vegetables in markets and kitchens.","Young, tender pads are used in cooked dishes, salads and preserved foods after appropriate preparation.","Assessing a harvested pad involves confirming its identity, freshness and preparation state."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q3367716: nopal","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3367716","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Nopal","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nopal","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Does the originating registry concept mean the nopal plant, its cladode, or specifically the vegetable, and does an existing model already own that meaning?","Which taxa and regional usages belong within this entry without introducing unsupported species restrictions?","Which maturity, tenderness and defect criteria are documented for the relevant cultivars and markets?","Which inspection methods adequately verify glochid removal for each intended use?","Which storage limits and suitability criteria are supported for intact, trimmed, cut, cooked and preserved nopal?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q3367716/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q3367716/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T11:40:46Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:32+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}