| Cylindropuntia leptocaulis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Genus: | Cylindropuntia |
| Species: | C. leptocaulis |
| Binomial name | |
| Cylindropuntia leptocaulis | |
| Synonyms | |
Cylindropuntia leptocaulis, the desert Christmas cactus, desert Christmas cholla, pencil cactus, or tasajillo, is a species of cholla cactus.
Cylindropuntia leptocaulis is widely distributed in deserts, grasslands, chaparral, and woodlands in the Southwestern United States and several states in Northern Mexico. [1]
The shrubby Cylindropuntia leptocaulis plants reach .5 to 1.8 m (1.6 to 5.9 ft) tall, reaching the extreme height when supported within desert trees. Branches are narrow, 3–5 mm across. Spines 0-1 (occasionally as many as 3) at each areole. Flowers open in the late afternoon and are pale yellow or greenish yellow, with occasional red tips. [2]
Around December, the plant grows red berries that when consumed, can have an intoxicating effect.[ citation needed ] The fruits are crushed and mixed with a beverage by the Apache, Chiricahua, and Mescalero to produce narcotic effects. [3]
Cylindropuntia fulgida, the jumping cholla, also known as the hanging chain cholla, is a cholla cactus native to Sonora and the Southwestern United States.
Cylindropuntia bigelovii, the teddy-bear cholla, is a cholla cactus species native to Northwestern Mexico, and to the United States in California, Arizona, and Nevada.
Cylindropuntia imbricata, the cane cholla, is a cactus found in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico, including some cooler regions in comparison to many other cacti. It occurs primarily in the arid regions of the Southwestern United States in the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. It is often conspicuous because of its shrubby or even tree-like size, its silhouette, and its long-lasting yellowish fruits.
Disocactus is a genus of epiphytic cacti in the tribe Hylocereeae found in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. It should not be confused with Discocactus, which is a different genus.
Cylindropuntia is a genus of cacti, containing species commonly known as chollas, native to northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. They are known for their barbed spines that tenaciously attach to skin, fur, and clothing. Stands of cholla are called cholla gardens. Individuals within these colonies often exhibit the same DNA, as they were formerly tubercles of an original plant.
Grusonia is a genus of opuntioid cacti, originating from the North American Deserts in Southwest United States and northern Mexico, including Baja California. Authors differ on precise boundaries of the genus, which has been included in Cylindropuntia. Corynopuntia, also known as club chollas, is now a synonym, with the genus originally being described by Knuth in 1935. Molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that it should be included in Grusonia, a view accepted by Plants of the World Online as of June 2021.
Grusonia pulchella (Engelm.) H.Rob., also known as sagebrush cholla, is a tuberous species of opuntioid cactus from the Mojave Desert of central Nevada, eastern California, northwestern Arizona and western Utah in the United States. Grusonia pulchella has at various times been included in Opuntia or placed in a separate genus Micropuntia.
Stenocereus thurberi, the organ pipe cactus, is a species of cactus native to Mexico and the United States. The species is found in rocky desert. Two subspecies are recognized based on their distribution and height. The Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is named for the species.
Opuntia stricta is a species of large cactus that is endemic to the subtropical and tropical coastal areas of the Americas, especially around the Caribbean. Common names include erect prickly pear and nopal estricto (Spanish). The first description as Cactus strictus was published in 1803 by Adrian Hardy Haworth. In 1812 he moved the species to the genus Opuntia.
The white-throated woodrat is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found from central Mexico north to Utah and Colorado in the United States. It is primarily a western species in the United States, extending from central Texas west to southeastern California. Populations east of the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Trans-Pecos Texas, previously considered to be variants of the white-throated woodrat, have since 1988 been assigned to the white-toothed woodrat.
Ferocactus cylindraceus is a species of barrel cactus which is known by several common names, including California barrel cactus, Desert barrel cactus, compass barrel cactus, and miner's compass. It was first described by George Engelmann in 1853.
Opuntia basilaris, the beavertail cactus or beavertail pricklypear, is a cactus species found in the southwest United States. It occurs mostly in the Mojave, Anza-Borrego, and Colorado Deserts, as well as in the Colorado Plateau and northwest Mexico. It is also found throughout the Grand Canyon and Colorado River region as well as into southern Utah and Nevada, and in the western Arizona regions along the Lower Colorado River Valley.
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa is a species of cactus known by the common names silver cholla, golden cholla, and Wiggins' cholla. It was formerly named Opuntia echinocarpa.
Cylindropuntia californica is a species of cholla cactus known by the common name snake cholla. It is primarily found in Baja California, Mexico and the southernmost part of California in the United States. It is characterized by a short, decumbent habit, yellow-green flowers, elongated stems, and short spines. It is mostly found in coastal sage scrub and coastal chaparral habitats, but two varieties in Baja California can be found in foothills and deserts. In California, variety californica is regarded as a rare and threatened plant, with a California Native Plant Society listing of 1B.1, in part due to its limited number of occurrences and threats from development. It formerly was considered to have a larger range due to the inclusion of Cylindropuntia bernardina within it as the variety parkeri.
Cylindropuntia spinosior, with the common names include cane cholla, spiny cholla and walkingstick cactus, is a cactus species of the North American deserts.
Cylindropuntia abyssi, common name Peach Springs cholla, is a species of cactus endemic to northwestern Arizona. It is known from only from the Grand Canyon and in Peach Springs Canyon, on the Hualapai Reservation in Mohave County. It grows in desert scrub on limestone ledges and hilltops. The natural range of the species is fairly small, but it is locally abundant and growing in an isolated area with few threats to the species survival.
Flora of the Sonoran Desert includes six subdivisions based on vegetation types. Two are north of the boundary between the United States and Mexico, and four are south of the boundary. The flora of the Colorado Desert are influenced by the environment of the very dry and hot lower areas of the Colorado River valley, which may be barren, treeless, and generally have no large cacti. Flora of the Arizona Upland are comparatively lush, with trees and large columnar cacti that can withstand winter frosts. Those subdivisions of the Sonoran Desert which lie south of the international border are characterized by plants that cannot withstand frost.
Edward Frederick Anderson was an American botanist who conducted extensive explorations in Mexico.
Cylindropuntia bernardina is a species of cholla cactus commonly known as the cane cholla or valley cholla, native to California and northwestern Baja California. It is an erect cholla that grows up to 2–3 meters tall, and occurs primarily in the foothills of the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges, parts of the Sonoran Desert, and in the Coast Ranges with a few populations around the Cuyama River. It was formerly placed as the variety parkeri of Cylindropuntia californica until it was renamed to C. bernardina. It is more closely related to Cylindropuntia ganderi than to C. californica.
Pediocactus simpsonii, known by the common names mountain cactus, snowball cactus, and mountain ball cactus, is a relatively common cactus that has adapted to survive in cold and dry environments in high elevation areas of the western United States. It can be found at higher elevations than any other cactus in North America. While not a landscape dominating plant, it is a relatively common species and the most common member of the genus Pediocactus. Because of its beauty and adaptation to cold environments it is sometimes grown by gardeners in areas that have few other choices due to the limited number of cactuses with cold adaptations. Like many cactuses its populations are sometimes threatened by this desirability due to the theft or removal of plants from the wild by collectors.
