FloraFinder.org
Home   About Us   FAQ  
Searching   Image Use Plant Books
x
FloraFinder uses cookies only for correct operation. More info. Okay

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa (Engelm. & J.M. Bigelow) F.M. Knuth

Buckhorn cholla

ParentsUnknownGenus is not in the current taxonomy
GenusCylindropuntiafrom the Greek kylindros, “a cylinder,” plus genus Opuntia, this is now the new genus of the so-called ‘true chollas’
SpeciesacanthocarpaWith thorny fruits like those of Acanthus

About plant names...

Buckthorn cholla (pronounced "koy-ya") is a North American native.

Identification: These plants may appear shrub-like, or take a shape more like a tree. They are 3-13′ (1-4 m) high. Stem segments, which can be green or purple, may be sparsely or densely branched. Each segment is 4-20″ (10-50 cm) long and ¾-1″ (2-3 cm) around. The areoles—little bumps with the spines—are elliptical to round, and have a fuzz that is light-colored at first and darkens with age. Spines are in groups of 6-20 or more, white to gray, tipped with yellow, about ⅝″ (1.6 cm) long. Flowers may be yellow, bronze, or brick red, and are ¾-1″ (2-3 cm) long. Fruits become tan, and are inconspicuous.

Buckthorn cholla is similar to staghorn cholla:

 

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa (buckhorn cholla)

5/24/2009 · Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Ari­zona

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa (buckhorn cholla)

5/24/2009 · Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Ari­zona · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm)

  You are here
Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa

Cylindropuntia versicolor
Common Name

buckhorn cholla

staghorn cholla
Plant 3-13′ (1-4 m) high, shrublike or treelike. Tree- or shrublike, to 6½′ (2 m) tall.
Flowers Colored red, brick red, orange, yellow, yellow-green, pink, or bronze; up to 2″ (5.7 cm) around. Up to 3″ (7.6 cm) around. Yellowish green, yellow, bronze, red, rose, or magenta.
Stem Segments green or purple, 4-20″ (10-50 cm) long and ¾-1″ (2-3 cm) around. Spines are in groups of 6-20 or more, white to gray, tipped with yellow, ⅝-1¼″ (1.6-3.2 cm) long. Stem segments greenish purple to purple, 1½-7″ (4-18 cm) × ⅜-¾″ (1-2 cm) around. Tubercules (ropy bumps on stems) are 3 to 5 times longer than they are wide. 7-10 spines per group, ¼-⅝″ (6.3-15 mm) long, reddish.
Fruit Tan, about ⅛″ (3.2 mm) around, deeply wrinkled, usually covered with long spines. Fleshy, with few or no spines, ¾-1½″ (2-4 cm) × ⅜-¾″ (1-2 cm) around.
Range/ Zones

USDA Zones: 9-11

Type Wild Wild

 

Online References:

Southeastern Arizona Wildflowers and the Plants of the Sonoran Desert

Desert-tropicals.com

George and Audrey DeLange's Arizona wildflower site

Jan.ucc.nau.edu

Wikimedia Commons

CactiGuide.com

The Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network

EFloras

References:

Anderson, Edward F., The Cactus Family, Timber Press, 2001, p. 204

 

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.


 

Range: Zones 9-11:

About this map...