PURPLE
Opuntia spinosior
Opuntia fulgida
Opuntia acanthocarpa
Common names: CHOLLA, CANE CACTUS, WALKINGSTICK CHOLLA, BUCKHORN CHOLLA Arizona desert: (Opuntia spinosior). Red-purple. May-June. California desert: (Opuntia acanthocarpa). Yellow-purple. April-May. Texas desert: (Opuntia imbricata). Red-purple. May-June. Cactus family. Size: Shrubby, from 3 to 8 feet high.
Aside from the true Tree Cholla (Opuntia fulgida), which is the largest of the branching, cylindrical-jointed cacti and is very common in restricted portions of the desert in the Tucson-Phoenix area, the species listed above are the largest, most representative, and most widely spread of the Chollas (CHOH-yahs).
The bright red to purple flowers of O. spinosior and O. imbricata make them particularly attractive during the blossoming season, while the extreme variability, from yellow to red and purple, of the flowers of O. acanthocarpa make its identification by this means always a matter of uncertainty. Fruits of spinosior and imbricata are quite large, yellow, and at a distance may be mistaken for blossoms.
Flowers of O. fulgida are small, pink, and appear in midsummer followed by fruits which remain on the plant to form long hanging clusters relished by cattle. A hybrid between spinosior and fulgida is reported along the Gila River west of Florence, Arizona.
PURPLE
Cirsium neomexicanum
Cirsium undulatum
