Sonoran Desert Cholla Cacti

Chain-fruit Cholla

Cylindropuntia fulgida

Teddy Bear Cholla

Cylindropuntia bigelovii

Large, robust cholla sometimes reaching tree size. Fruit appearing in pendulous chains. Stem segments detach readily - one of the "jumping" chollas. Widespread in the Sonoran Desert. Detailed Description

Intensly spiney cholla with segments that detach, root, and grow into new plants thus forming thickets of cholla clones. Also called jumping cholla. Fruits appearing dry at maturity, not in chains. Common across much of the Sonoran Desert. Detailed Description

Staghorn Cholla

Cylindropuntia versicolor

Large cholla near Tucson with intricate branching. Flowers come in many hues. Detailed Description

Buckhorn Cholla

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa

Cane Cholla

Cylindropuntia spinosior

Branching cholla with relatively large dia. joints that are mostly strait and not intricately branched. Flowers mostly yellow-green. Detailed Description

Branching cholla with long, mostly straight joints. Tubercles on stems and fruit prominent. More likely to be found at higher elevations along eastern portions of the Sonoran Desert. Detailed Description

Desert Christmas Cactus

Cylindropuntia leptocaulis

Silver Cholla/ Golden Cholla

Cylindropuntia echinocarpa

Branching cholla with stem-joints about the diameter of a pencil. Bright red fruits appear through much of autumn and winter seasons. Fairly common at mid and upper elevations in the Sonoran Desert. Detailed Description

Spines glisten silver or golden. Far western portions of the Sonoran Desert ranging into the Mojave Desert. Stems rarely detach and fruits appearing dry at maturity, not in chains. This photograph is hosted at Wikimedia.     Detailed Description

Diamond Cholla

Cylindropuntia ramosissima

Pencil Cholla

Cylindropuntia arbuscula

Lower elevations mostly in western areas of the Sonoran Desert. Barely raised, diamond-shaped tubercles supporting long spines. Detailed Description

Elongate joints about the diameter and length of a pencil. Large, intricately branched. Southern half of Sonoran Desert. Detailed Description

Other Cactus Types

• Columnar Cactus (saguaro, organpipe, etc.)
• Barrels, Hedgehogs, and Pincushions
• Prickly Pears