Cylindropuntia Munzii

Munz's cholla, cylindropuntia munzii, grows in the hot deserts of Baja California and far southwest California, in such places as the foothills of the Chocolate and Chuckwalla Mountains; plants have not spread across the Colorado River into Arizona. It forms upright shrubs, 3 to 8 feet high, of easily-detached stems one inch thick and up to 6 inches long, with prominent tubercles bearing clusters of eight to 14 whitish-yellow spines, gray when aged. Some spines are noticeably flattened. Glochids are less conspicuous than many other cholla species.

In the US the species is found in the same region as the similar cylindropuntia echinocarpa, and sometimes forms hybrids, making identification difficult, unless flowering (as the colors of blooms are quite different: reddish-brown vs. yellow). Munz's cholla has stamens with green filaments and yellow anthers, while style and the lobed stigma are pale cream. Fruits are rounded capsules, pale brown when mature, just less than one inch across.