Cylindropuntia ramosissima (Diamond Cholla)

Cylindropuntia ramosissima

Cylindropuntia ramosissima (Engelm.) F.M. Knuth

Opuntia ramosissima Engelm.

Opuntia tesselata

Diamond Cholla, Diamond-plated Pencil Cholla, Branched Pencil 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	ramosissima	Very branched

About plant names...

Diamond cholla is so named because the pattern of bumps (technically tubercules) along the stem segments is diamond-shaped. The “pencil” in other common names refers to the narrow, pencil-like stems.

Identification: Diamond cholla is multiply branched, resembling either a shrub or a small tree, 20-79" (50-200 cm) tall. Stem segments are ¾-4" (2-10 cm) long, and only ⅛-⅜" (4-10 mm) in diameter. Unusually long spines ⅞-2" (2.5-6 cm) long occur in groups of one to five. The spine groups are widely spaced, and the spines are tan to reddish brown or deep purple, and finally to gray. Flowers are brown, tinged with red; sometimes orange or pink. Fruits or oval-shaped, tan, ½-1" (1.5-3 cm) × ⅜-½" (1-1.5 cm).

References:

Anderson, Edward F., The Cactus Family, Timber Press, 2001, p. 212

Online References:

Cylindropuntia ramosissima on Desert-tropicals.com

Cylindropuntia ramosissima on SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network

Cylindropuntia ramosissima at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Sonoran Desert Digital Library

Cylindropuntia ramosissima on www2.palomar.edu

Cylindropuntia ramosissima on CactiGuide.com

Cylindropuntia ramosissima at the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association

Cylindropuntia ramosissima from the Jepson Manual

Cylindropuntia ramosissima on eFloras