Virginia Tech Dendrology

cane cholla Cactaceae Cylindropuntia spinosior (Engelm.) F.M. Knuth symbol: CYSP8
Leaf: Reduced to a spine, to 1 inch pale spines, with a shining sheath, arranged in obvious areoles with 20 stiff spines per areole, often completely covering the stem.
Flower: Up to 3 inches, purple, white or yellow, early summer.
Fruit: Generally sterile, barrel-shaped, without spines, fleshy and green, 2 inches long.
Twig: Segmented, each segment blue-green or with a purple tint, to 12 inches long and 3 inches in diameter.
Bark: Brown-black, becoming rough and scaly, often obscured by old needles.
Form: A multibranched shrub to 8 feet.
Looks like: coastal cholla - Teddy bear cholla - buckhorn cholla - tree cholla

Additional Range Information: Cylindropuntia spinosior is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information