TREE CHOLLA (Opuntia imbricata)

This cholla can grow up to 2 metres tall, and at an elevation of 2000 metres or more. In the image above it is growing at a high elevation in the desert grassland region of the Chihuahuan Desert (Big Bend National Monument, West Texas). The spines are not prominent, so the green colour of the stem is seen, as also is the pronounced tubercular pattern of the stems. The flowers are usually rose-violet in colour; the fruits are large and yellow.

The range of this cactus extends from the snowy regions of Colorado through to Kansas and Oklahoma. It is quite frost-tolerant.