Teddy Bear Cholla
Jumping Cholla
Cylindropuntia bigelovii
(Opuntia bigelovii)
This clonal group of teddy bear chollas near Vulture Peak, south of Wickenburg, Arizona, are likely all decendent from pieces that had broken off from an original parent plant.
SPINES: Densely covered with long, glistening, sharply barbed spines
that mostly obscure the stem. Probably the inspiration for the bumper sticker:
"Have you hugged your cactus today?"
JOINTS/STEMS: The joints readily break off and will often root to form a
new plant. Also called Jumping Cactus because these detached joints so readily
catch in clothing or skin. About 20 cm long
and 3 cm in diameter.
TRUNK: Usually grows from one distinct trunk but with a compact form
less than 1.5 m tall.
TUBERCLES: Stems and fruit both have prominent ovoid tubercles.
FLOWERS: greenish yellow; sometimes with a bit of lavender or red.
FRUIT: green or yellow often without viable seed. See a detail image of fruit on
Page 2.
RANGE: common to abundant nearly throughout the Sonoran Desert. Grows
either on rocky slopes or else sometimes forming dense stands on sandy soils.
Vast forests of this cholla occur near Puerto Peñasco on the shores of the Gulf
of California.