Buckhorn Cholla Cactus Seeds (Cylindropuntia Acanthocarpa)
Cholla cactus while the name "Jumping Cholla" is applied especially to this species, it is also used as a general term for all chollas.
Flowers are white, pink, and yellow streaked with lavender. They are about one inch wide and are displayed at the joint tips blooming in mid-summer.
The jumping cholla is an arborescent (tree-like) plant with one low-branching trunk.
It often grows to heights of 4 m (13 ft), with drooping branches chained.
The stems are light green and are strongly tuberculate, with tubercles (small, wart-like projections on the stems) measuring 6 to 9 mm.
Together, the plants form fantastic-looking forests that may range over many hectares.
Leaves have been reduced to spines, 6 to 12 of which grow from each areole. Young branches are covered with 2 to 3 cm (1 to 1 in) silvery-yellow spines, which darken to a gray color with age.
These spines form a dense layer that obscures the stems. Slower growing or older branches have sparse and/or shorter spines. As the spines fall off of older parts, the brown-black bark is revealed. It becomes rough and scaly with age.
Most of the fleshy, pear-shaped to nearly round, wrinkled with a few spines. They are typically about 4 cm (1.5 in) long, often producing flowers the following year which add new to those of previous seasons.
