Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa var. acanthocarpa

Buckhorn cholla, Buckhorn Cholla

Family: Cactaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Buckhorn cholla is a California native shrub found in the Mojave Desert bioregion in creosote-bush scrub and Joshua-tree woodland at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces yellow flowers with purple to brown-red tints, with inner perianth less than 3.5 centimeters long. Growing up to 4 meters tall with a single trunk and spreading to erect main branches, it features distinctive terminal segments up to 50 centimeters long and 2 to 2.5 centimeters in diameter. Its branches are covered with 12 to 21 pale yellow- to red-brown spines less than 5 centimeters long, arranged on prominent tubercles 20 to 40 millimeters long. The fruit is spiny with proximal tubercles notably larger than distal tubercles, creating a distinctive and formidable appearance.

Habitat: Creosote-bush scrub, Joshua-tree woodland

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: D

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.