Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa

 Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa (buckhorn cholla) ( )

Opuntia acanthocarpa

Cactaceae

• At first glance Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa is similar to Cylindropuntia echinocarpa or silver cholla, and the two may occur together. One way to separate them is to look at the shape of the tubercles, or raised mounds along the stem. In silver cholla the tubercles are never more than about twice are as long ass they are broad, while buckhorn cholla the tubercles are more elongate and their length is at least three times their width. Another difference is that the silver cholla has a distinctive main trunk that extends for a third to half of the height of the plant, while buckhorn cholla has a short trunk that forms no more than a fifth of the plant height, with branched stems above this point. In the springtime when the cacti are flowering, there is an easier way to separate the species. Silver cholla has greenish flowers while those of buckhorn cholla are typically reddish-purple to yellow. "California Desert Plants, Philip W Rundel, Robert J Gustafson, Micahel E Kauffmann."
• Heavily armed by long spines, each with a sheath-like covering, this forbidding cholla offers dazzling red, yellow, orange, or variegated blossoms. They spiral inward when touched, which results in bees getting doused with more pollen. It has joints six to 12 inches long and spine-bearing tubercles that are two to three times as long as they are wide. The open, branching habita makes it easy to pick the buds, which are boiled or steamed in pits. The cooked buds have the flavor or asparagus or artichoke. Found from 500 to 3, 500 feet, sometimes hybridizing with other chollas, buckhorns are plants of open valleys, bajadas, and arid canyons. Bloom time runs from mid-April to late May "Arizona Highways Presents Desert Wildflowers, 1988".