While many see versatile maiz as the foremost plant in Mexican cookery, cactus occupies a more symbolic role for many Mexicans.
You can literally see this by examining the Mexican flag, which depicts a prickly pear cactus atop which an eagle perches as it devours a serpent. The image commemorates how the Aztecs founded Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) in the 1300s. According to legend, the wandering Aztecs would know where to build their new city when they saw an eagle perched on a cactus.
