Desert Christmas Cactus
Cylindropuntia leptocaulis
(Opuntia leptocaulis)
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FRUIT: The fruit begin changing to bright red in the autumn and decorate
this cactus through much of the winter season.
SUCCULENT: An intricately branched succulent occasionally up to
2 m tall. The joint-segments are pencil-thin and about 6 cm long.
SPINES: Long, thin needle-like spines are yellow when young.
FLOWERS: Yellow-green open mostly in May to July. Flower below observed at Romero Canyon, Pima Co.,
Arizona, July 30, 2016.
RANGE: Generally distributed through the eastern portions of the Sonoran
Desert of Arizona and hence into the Chihuahuan Desert.