Scientific name:
Cylindropuntia arbuscula
Common name:
Arizona pencil cholla
Range:
South central and south Arizona, from Black Canyon City southwards
Form:
Shrublike; many thin stems, branching from a short trunk
Habitat:
Grassland, gravel or sandy flats, or along dry washes, at low elevations (below 3,000 feet)
Flowers:
Yellow, sometimes orange, at the tip of mature stems; appearing in April, May and June
Distribution map for cylindropuntia arbuscula
As its common name (Arizona pencil cholla) suggests, cylindropuntia arbuscula is found only in Arizona, in the south central part of the state from the Phoenix area south to the border with Mexico.
Stems are lightish green in color, occasionally tinged purple, and very thin, usually no wider than half an inch (1.5 cm); only the Christmas cholla has thinner branches, and although the ranges of the two plants coincide, they may be readily identified by their fruit. The pencil cholla has green fruit (becoming yellowish when mature) bearing tubercles with glochids, while the Christmas cholla has smaller, bright red fruit, which remains on the plant for many months. Tubercles are narrow, inconspicuous, and somewhat elongated.
Cylindropuntia arbuscula spines are yellow-brown in color, up to 1.5 inches long and downwards-pointing; there are between zero and three per areole, most often one. The lack of spines on some areoles is another identifying feature; Christmas cholla has a generally denser covering of spines. Mature plants reach heights of 7 feet, with hundreds of stem segments (2 to 5 inches long) sprouting from an upright trunk.
Flowers, also spineless, are yellow to bronze in color, sometimes red. Stamens have yellow anthers and dark green or bronze filaments. Stigma lobes are pale green.
Stems are lightish green in color, occasionally tinged purple, and very thin, usually no wider than half an inch (1.5 cm); only the Christmas cholla has thinner branches, and although the ranges of the two plants coincide, they may be readily identified by their fruit. The pencil cholla has green fruit (becoming yellowish when mature) bearing tubercles with glochids, while the Christmas cholla has smaller, bright red fruit, which remains on the plant for many months. Tubercles are narrow, inconspicuous, and somewhat elongated.
Cylindropuntia arbuscula spines are yellow-brown in color, up to 1.5 inches long and downwards-pointing; there are between zero and three per areole, most often one. The lack of spines on some areoles is another identifying feature; Christmas cholla has a generally denser covering of spines. Mature plants reach heights of 7 feet, with hundreds of stem segments (2 to 5 inches long) sprouting from an upright trunk.
Flowers, also spineless, are yellow to bronze in color, sometimes red. Stamens have yellow anthers and dark green or bronze filaments. Stigma lobes are pale green.
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