#cholla #cactus #fruit

A brand new handful of seedlings that will change dramatically in appearance over the next few years: Cylindropuntia imbricata, Tree or Cane Cholla!
Hailing in this case from the Davis Mountains of Texas, the species is actually quite widespread and is even found in the southeastern portions of my home state Colorado, all the way down to northern Mexico. It forms wrinkly branching stems that develop into bush or treelike forms up to 8 feet or so tall in some cases (though 4-6 more common) and new growth will produce fleshy lance-shaped leaves like seen in these seedlings but will drop those once a section matures, leaving behind only photosynthetic stem and spines. This species however is rather less spiny than some of its famous western cousins (jumping and teddy bear chollas), but still not something you want to fall into.
Late spring to early summer especially in wetter years will see the ends of each branch sporting huge hot pink flowers, and when you’re in a stand in full bloom it’s a mesmerizing flush of color. These give way to spiny green fruits that nearly match the stems, though once ripe they turn golden yellow (unfortunately, they don’t lose the spines altogether and also don’t really have any pulp, just seeds, so not really edible).
For those who might be interested, I only planted a pinch of the seeds I gathered; a very, very limited number of packets are newly available in the Shop!

#cylindropuntia #cylindropuntiaimbricata #cholla #cactus #plants #strangeplants #texas #botany #plantsmakepeoplehappy #horticulture #plantsathome #botanical #educational #gardening #carltoncarnivores

#Cholla #cactus blooms