Chain
Fruit Cholla The chain
fruit cholla looks as much like a tree in the
desert as a cactus possibly can. It has a central
trunk from which sprout many spiny "branches". It
is commonly found in dry, sandy soils of bajadas,
valleys floors, and plains of the Sonoran and
Chihuahua Desert, south Arizona and northwest
Mexico. It is found at elevations up to 4,000 feet
above sea level. The chain
fruit cholla is a shrubby cactus. It has many
segmented, The
segmented branches have light-green leaves about
1/2 inch to 1 inch long when they are young. One
inch long white and pink flowers streaked with
lavender bloom from June to August. The flowers
bloom at the end of the branches and on old fruit.
The pear shaped fruit is about 1.5 inches long and
half as wide. Clusters of these fruits sometimes
stay attached for many years. New flowers will
bloom on them every year and the chains grow longer
with every year, sometimes as long as 2 feet. That
is why they are called chain fruit cholla.
The chain
fruit cholla is also called jumping cholla because
the segments break off easily when brushed up
against and stick to you, During droughts animals like the Bighorn Sheep rely on the juicy fruit for food and water. Large forests of chain fruit cholla grow in Arizona. The cactus is not considered to be vulnerable or endangered, mostly because they grow in inaccessible and hostile places of the desert. 2002
bibliography: "Chain Fruit Cholla (DesertUSA)", http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/may/papr/du_chaincholla.html, (9/7/02). "Cylindropuntia fulgida", http://www.whitethornhouse.com/cacti/cacti01-09.htm, (9/7/02). "Chain Fruit Cholla", http://www.dbg.org/Involved/chain_fruit_cholla.html, (9/7/02).
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