Cholla
These cacti (pronounced “choy’yah”) average 4 feet tall and are many-branched, with each joint having a round (rather than flattened) cross section. Buckhorn cholla has a very short trunk, or no trunk at all. The joints are 6-12 inches long. And the tubercles are elongate, .75-1 inch long, and .25 inches wide. There are about 15 straw-colored spines per cluster, and the clusters are widely-spaced enough that the predominant color is that of the green stem. Buckhorn chollas are found on dry, gravelly hillsides below 3,500 feet often mixed with creosote bush.
