Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa (Buckhorn cholla)

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa (Engelm. & J.M. Bigelow) F.M. Knuth

Buckhorn cholla

Parents	Unknown	Genus is not in the current taxonomy
Genus	Cylindropuntia	from the Greek kylindros, “a cylinder,” plus genus Opuntia, this is now the new genus of the so-called ‘true chollas’
Species	acanthocarpa	With thorny fruits like those of Acanthus

About plant names...

Buckthorn cholla (pronounced “koy-ya”) is a North American native.

Identification: These plants may appear shrub-like, or take a shape more like a tree. They are 3-13' (1-4 m) high. Stem segments, which can be green or purple, may be sparsely or densely branched. Each segment is 4-20" (10-50 cm) long and ¾-1" (2-3 cm) around. The areoles—little bumps with the spines—are elliptical to round, and have a fuzz that is light-colored at first and darkens with age. Spines are in groups of 6-20 or more, white to gray, tipped with yellow, about ⅝" (1.6 cm) long. Flowers may be yellow, bronze, or brick red, and are ¾-1" (2-3 cm) long. Fruits become tan, and are inconspicuous.

Buckthorn cholla is similar to staghorn cholla:

5/24/2009 · Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona
≈ 8 × 5' (2.4 × 1.6 m)

5/24/2009 · Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)

	You are here Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa	*Cylindropuntia versicolor*
Common Name	buckhorn cholla	staghorn cholla
Plant	3-13' (1-4 m) high, shrublike or treelike.	Tree- or shrublike, to 6½' (2 m) tall.
Flowers	Colored red, brick red, orange, yellow, yellow-green, pink, or bronze; up to 2" (5.7 cm) around.	Up to 3" (7.6 cm) around. Yellowish green, yellow, bronze, red, rose, or magenta.
Stem	Segments green or purple, 4-20" (10-50 cm) long and ¾-1" (2-3 cm) around. Spines are in groups of 6-20 or more, white to gray, tipped with yellow, ⅝-1¼" (1.6-3.2 cm) long.	Stem segments greenish purple to purple, 1½-7" (4-18 cm) × ⅜-¾" (1-2 cm) around. Tubercules (ropy bumps on stems) are 3 to 5 times longer than they are wide. 7-10 spines per group, ¼-⅝" (6.3-15 mm) long, reddish.
Fruit	Tan, about ⅛" (3.2 mm) around, deeply wrinkled, usually covered with long spines.	Fleshy, with few or no spines, ¾-1½" (2-4 cm) × ⅜-¾" (1-2 cm) around.
Range/ Zones	USDA Zones: 9-11
Type	Wild	Wild

Online References:

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa at Southeastern Arizona Wildflowers and the Plants of the Sonoran Desert

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa on Desert-tropicals.com

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa at George and Audrey DeLange's Arizona wildflower site

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa on jan.ucc.nau.edu

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa on Wikimedia Commons

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa on CactiGuide.com

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa at the Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa on SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa on eFloras

References:

Anderson, Edward F., The Cactus Family, Timber Press, 2001, p. 204

Opuntia acanthocarpa

Opuntia echinocarpa var. major Engelmann 1856

Opuntia acanthocarpa var. major (Engelmann) L. D. Benson 1969

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa var. major (Engelmann) Pinkava 1999

Opuntia thornberi Thornberi & Bonker 1932

Opuntia acanthocarpa var. thornberi Thornberi & Bonker 1932

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa var. thornberi (Thornberi & Bonker) Backeberg 1958

Opuntia acanthocarpa var. coloradensis L. D. Benson 1969

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa var. coloradensis (L. D. Benson) Pinkava 1999

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

Range: Zones 9-11:

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