WikiBotanicals:Cylindropuntia

Cylindropuntia is a genus of cacti (family Cactaceae), containing the cholla. They were formerly treated as a subgenus of Opuntia but have now been separated based on their cylindrical stems (Opuntia have flattened stems) and the presence of papery epidermal sheaths on the spines (Opuntia have no sheaths). A few species of mat or clump forming opuntioid cacti are currently placed in the genus Grusonia.

Background
There are about 35 species of Cylindropuntia native to the southwest and south central United States, Mexico and the West Indies, The Flora of North America recognizes 22 species. Some species have been introduced to South America (Chile, Ecuador, Peru) and South Africa.

Species
C. abyssi (Peach Springs canyon cholla)

C. acanthocarpa (buckhorn cholla) is a cactus native to California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona in the United States. Varieties:
 * C. a. acanthocarpa (buckhorn cholla)
 * C. a. coloradensis (Colorado buckhorn cholla)
 * C. a. major (buckhorn cholla)
 * C. a. thornberi (Thornber's buckhorn cholla)

C. alcahes

C. arbuscula (pencil cholla)

C. bigelovii (teddy-bear cholla) Usually with a central, erect trunk, 1 meter high or less, with short lateral branches, the upper ones erect; joints usually 5 to 15 cm. long, very turgid, with closely set areoles and almost impenetrable armament; tubercles slightly elevated, pale green, somewhat 4-sided, about as long as broad, 1 cm. broad or less; spines, as well as their papery sheaths, pale yellow; flowers several, borne at the tips of the branches, 4 cm. long including the ovary; sepals orbicular, about 1 cm. in diameter, tinged with red; petals about 1.5 cm. long, pale magenta to crimson; ovary 2 cm. long, its large areoles bearing brown wool and several acicular spines: fruit usually naked, strongly tuberculate, the upper tubercles larger than the lower. Type locality is Bill Williams River, Arizona. It is distributed in Southern Nevada, Arizona, California, northern Sonora, and northern Lower California.

C. californica (California cholla, snake cholla, and cane cholla) is a sprawling cactus which can approach 3 meters in maximum height or width. The green or purple-tinged segments are narrow and cylindrical, surfaced in fleshy tubercles bearing many gray or reddish spines up to 3 centimeters long. The flowers are yellow, sometimes tinged with green or purple. The fruit is dry, leathery, greenish or yellow, and up to 2 or 3 centimeters in length.

C. caribaea

C. cholla

C. cylindrica (cane cactus)

C. echinocarpa (silver cholla) The plant is usually low, but sometimes 1.5 meters high, much branched and widely spreading, with a short woody trunk 2 to 3 cm. in diameter, in age with nearly smooth bark; joints short, turgid, strongly tuberculate; spines numerous, when young bright yellow, when oldet brownish, or in age grayish, unequally covered with thin papery sheaths; flowers yellowish, but the sepals often tipped with red; ovary short, turbinate, densely spiny especially in the upper part; fruit dry, very spiny; seeds somewhat angular, 4 mm. broad. Type locality is in the Colorado Valley near the mouth of Bill Williams River. It is distributed in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, California, and Lower California.

C. fulgida (jumping cholla or hanging chain cholla) plant is an arborescent (tree-like) plant with one low-branching trunk. It often grows to heights of 4 m (12 ft), with drooping branches of chained fruit. The stems are light green and are strongly tuberculate, with tubercles (small, wart-like projections on the stems) measuring 6 to 9 mm. Together, the plants form fantastic looking forests that may range over many hectares.

C. imbricata (cane cholla, tree cholla) is found in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico, including some cooler regions in comparison to many other cacti. It occurs primarily in arid regions but can also be found scattered across locations in the semi-arid High Plains of the Texas Panhandle and eastern New Mexico. It is often conspicuous because of its shrubby or even tree-like size, its silhouette, and its long-lasting yellowish fruits.

C. kelvinensis

C. kleiniae

C. leptocaulis (desert Christmas cactus, Christmas Cholla, tasajillo) is widely distributed in deserts, grasslands, chaparral, and woodlands in the Southwestern United States and several states in Northern Mexico.

C. ×multigeniculata (Blue Diamond cholla)

C. mortolensis

C. munzii (Munz's cholla)

C. prolifera (Coastal cholla) is a mostly erect, treelike cactus which can approach 3 meters in maximum height. The gray-green segments are narrow and cylindrical, surfaced in fleshy tubercles bearing many brown or reddish spines up to 2 centimeters long. The flowers are reddish purple and often borne on the fruits of previous seasons. Fruits grow in chains of up to 5 and are green in color.

C. ramosissima (Diamond Cholla) is a series of Cylindropuntia. Consisting of a single bushy species, with slender joints. The nearly flat tubercles diamond-shaped and contiguous. The acicular spines, when present, usually only 1 at an areole. It is distributed in Southern Nevada, western Arizona, southeastern California, northwestern Sonora and probably northeastern Lower California. Type locality in California, near the Colorado River.

C. rosea (Hudson Pear) is a cactus Australian botanists attribute to being native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Northwestern Mexico. The plant is an invasive species in Australia. Neither this species name, C. rosea, nor C. tunicata are recognized in North America.

C. schottii (dog cholla)

C. spinosior (Tasajo cholla) is a cactus species that is native to Arizona and New Mexico in the United States and Chihuahua and Sonora in Mexico. Common names include cane cholla, spiny cholla and walkingstick cactus.

C. stanlyi (devil cholla)

C. tunicata (thistle cholla)

C. ×tetracantha

C. versicolor (staghorn cholla)

C. ×vivipara

C. whipplei (rat-tail cholla) Consisting of low, much branched, with long, fibrous roots; areoles prominent, flattened laterally, 10 to 15 cm. long, circular, filled with light-brown wool; glochids pale yellow, short; spines about 12, the longest about 2 cm. long, dark brown, covered with lighter colored papery sheaths; flowers yellow, small (2 cm. broad); young ovary bearing brown spines in the axils of the leaves; fruit strongly tuberculate, spineless, 2.5 to 4 cm. long, with a deeply depressed umbilicus, sometimes with only one seed but usually many; seeds small, 4 mm. broad, smooth. Type locality is about Zuni, New Mexico.

C. wolfii (Wolf's opuntia)