Ratchette (F)

From the French raquette; Prickly Pear Cactus, (Opuntia dillenii), a member of the family Cactaceae. Most common on the drier parts of the leeward coast, the fruit of this cactus was eaten and used as a dye in cooking. On the wetter windward coast the ratchette seldom sets fruit. The Caribs used the fleshy joints of the plant in their medicinal treatment of an enlarged or painful spleen. The Carib name for the cactus is bata. A settlement on the west coast where much cactus grows is called Morne Ratchette. In Carib times the area was called Batali also after the bata cactus. An estate and bay nearby are still called Batali today.

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