Plant Name
Scientific Name: Cylindropuntia bigelovii
Synonym: Opuntia bigelovii
Common Names: Teddybear Cholla, Teddy Bear Cholla, Jumping Cholla
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Shrub, Subshrub, Cactus
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert
Flower Color: Lime green to whitish green
Flowering Season: Spring
Height: To 8 feet (2.4 m) tall
Description: The flowers are 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) wide and have red to lavender-streaked petals. The flowers are followed by bumpy, yellow, narrowly vase-shaped fruit. The stems are densely covered in pale yellow, barbed spines. The spiny stem segments detach easily at the joints and will adhere to anyone brushing against them. Fallen stem segments litter the ground under the plants, making these cacti especially hazardous to approach. The fallen segments take root in the soil, creating new plants.
Special Characteristics
Legal Status – Protected Native Plant (Salvage Restricted)
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Caryophyllidae
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae – Cactus family
Genus: Cylindropuntia (Engelm.) Kreuzinger
Species: Cylindropuntia bigelovii (Engelm.) F.M. Knuth – teddybear cholla
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