Wildflower Photos #4c
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California Wildflowers #4c  
Cholla Cactus In Anza-Borrego State Park

More Cholla Images At Wildflowers 4b
More Cholla Images At Wildflowers 4d
More Cholla Images At Wildflowers 4e
More Cholla Images At Wildflowers 4f
Other Pages Of California Wildflowers

  1.   Valley Cholla (Cylindropuntia parryi)
  2.   Gander's Cholla (Cylindropuntia ganderi)
  2.   Jumping Cholla (C. bigelovii & C. fosbergii)
  3.   Wolf's Cholla (Cylindropuntia wolfii)
  5.   Silver Cholla (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa)    

 Cylindopuntia Key In Flora of North America 
Key To Chollas Of Anza-Borrego State Park

1. Valley Cholla (Cylindropuntia parryi)

Valley cholla (Cylindropuntia parryi) along Hwy. S-2 in San Felipe Valley. The plants in this area appear to intergrade with Gander's cholla (C. ganderi) which occurs in the southern San Felipe Valley and Earthquake Valley.

Valley cholla (Cylindropuntia parryi) showing narrow, elongate tubercles.

Valley cholla (Cylindropuntia parryi) showing spines on desiccated fruit. The spines are not as sparse as in populations of this species in Riverside County.

Cane cholla (Cylindropuntia parryi var. parryi) at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

2. Gander's Cholla (Cylindropuntia ganderi)

  See Flower of Cylindropuntia ganderi  

Gander's cholla (Cylindropuntia ganderi) along Hwy. S-2 in Blair Valley. Note the numerous, long, upright (ascending) branches that characterize this species.

Gander's cholla (Cylindropuntia ganderi) along Hwy. S-2 in Blair Valley. Note the numerous, parallel (strict), upright (ascending) branches that characterize this species.

3. Jumping Cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii) & C. fosbergii

  See Flower of Cylindropuntia bigelovii  

Two species of jumping cholla. A. Cylindropuntia fosbergii). B. C. bigelovii. Both species have densely spiny stem segments that are easily detached into your shoes or body appendages. The flowers have green filaments and the fruits are spineless. The stem spines of C. fosbergii have a slight pinkish tinge.

Left: Jumping cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii). Right. C. fosbergii (also listed as Opuntia bigelovii var. hoffmannii). The spines of C. fosbergii have a slight pinkish tinge. Both photos taken along Hwy. S-2 near Box Canyon.

See Article About Painful Hitchhikers
  The Undisputed Most Painful Hitchhiker  

4. Wolf's Cholla (Cylindropuntia wolfii)

  See Flower of Cylindropuntia wolfii  

Wolf's cholla (Cylindropuntia wolfii) photographed along Hwy S-2 near Carrizo Badlands Overlook. The only other species in this area that Wolf's cholla could be confused with is C. echinocarpa; however, the flowers are different colors. Wolf's cholla has striking reddish-brown (bronze) petals, while the petals of silver cholla are yellow to greenish yellow.

5. Silver Cholla (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa)

  See Flower of Cylindropuntia echinocarpa
Flower of C. echinocarpa cf. C. ganderi  

A densely spiny silver cholla (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa) photographed along Hwy S-2 in southeastern San Diego County near the Imperial County line. The terminal stem segments of this species are typically 3 - 8 cm, compared with 10 - 26 cm for C. ganderi. Both species have pale green filaments and greenish-yellow perianth segments.

A. Jumping cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii). B. Silver cholla (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa). Photo taken along Hwy S-2 in southeastern San Diego County near the Imperial County line. The terminal stem segments of both species are much shorter than the erect stems of C. ganderi.

  See Buckhorn Cholla (C. acanthocarpa)  
See Pencil Cholla (C. ramosissima)

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