staghorn cholla Cactaceae Cylindropuntia versicolor

Leaf:Reduced to a spine covered in a gray sheath, arranged in obvious areoles with 6-10 medium-long stiff spines per areole.
Flower:Yellow-green, yellow, orange, or pink, 1 1/2 inch, displayed at the joint tips, appearing in late spring.
Fruit:Barrel-shaped or pear-shaped, initially fleshy, purplish, turning yellow-brown, to 2 inches, mostly lacking spines, persisting.
Twig:Segmented, each segment purplish or greenish purple, to 7 inches long (often 3-4 inches) and 3/4 inch in diameter.
Bark:Brown-black, becoming rough and scaly.
Form:A large shrub to 10 feet, loosely branched.

leaf fruit twig form map

Notes: