Christmas cactus Cactaceae Cylindropuntia leptocaulis

Leaf:Reduced to a spine covered in a tan sheath, arranged in obvious areoles with 0-3 stiff spines per areole, usually with one long spine to 2 inches.
Flower:Yellow-green to reddish, 1 inch, displayed at the joint tips, mostly in late spring but can appear throughout the summer.
Fruit:Barrel-shaped or pear-shaped, initially fleshy, bright red, 1/2 inch, lacking spines, ripening in December.
Twig:Segmented, each segment gray-green to purplish, to 6 inches long (often 3-4 inches) and 1/2 inch in diameter.
Bark:Brown-black, becoming rough and scaly.
Form:Shrubby segmented cactus branching very low to the ground, to 6 feet, heavily branched.

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