prickly....

...but not necessarily a pear as it's fig season and the prickly beastie known locally as a prickly pear is actually an Indian Fig.
Possibly native to South America it was introduced to California by Franciscan monks and believe to have been introduced to Europe by Christopher Columbus.

Introduced to Australia by First Fleet's Captain Arthur Phillip , the prickly pear was brought along with the first batch of convicts for the cochineal insects living on the cactus pads.
On his way to Aus via Brazil (as you do) he collected some cochineal infested plants and the red dye from the cochineal insect was used to dye the British soldiers red coats.

The insects didn't thrive but the cactus plants did! ( now there's a story since repeated) and were brought under control by introduction of a South American moth, the larvae of which feed on the plants.

Stands of Indian Figs are laden with fruit in various stages of ripening and the one just down the road will mysteriously be stripped bare by someone carefully avoiding the tiny spines, glocnidea.
Apparently delicious prepared in many ways, the tuna (yet another name for the fruit) can be served fresh sliced with lime, dried, pureed and sieved and even made into jam ...or a margarita.
Now that sounds like a fig season plan!