Cylindropuntia versicolor (Engelm. ex J.M. Coult.) F.M. Knuth

Staghorn cholla, morada cholla

Staghorn cholla is similar to buckthorn cholla

	Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa	You are here Cylindropuntia versicolor
Common Name	buckhorn cholla	staghorn cholla
Plant	3–13′ (1–4 m) high, shrublike or treelike. 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.	Tree- or shrublike, to 6½′ (2 m) tall. 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.
Flowers	Flowers may be yellow, pink, bronze, or brick red, and are ¾–1½″ (2–4 cm) long.	Up to 3″ (7.6 cm) around. Yellowish green, yellow, bronze, red, rose, or magenta.
Fruit	Fruits are green, then tan, spiny, and inconspicuous.	Yellow-green to red-purple, forming chains. Fruits are fleshy, with few or no spines, ¾–1½ ⨉ ⅜–¾″ (2–4 ⨉ 1–2 cm).
Range/ Zones	USDA Zones: 9-11
Habitats	Grassland, scrubland, pinyon-juniper foothills up to 5000′ (1.5 km) elevation.	Desert scrub, flats, washes, rocky hillsides, and canyons, at elevations of 1969–4265′ (600–1300 m).

Cylindropuntia versicolor description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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