Tree cholla
| Botanical Name | Cylindropuntia imbricata |
| Common Name | Tree cholla |
| Family | Cactaceae - Cactus |
| Description | This is a spiny leafless bush or small tree with cylindrical jointed branches. Spines are 1/2" - 1" long with 10 - 30 per cluster. The fruit is 1" - 2" long, yellow, egg-shaped and fleshy. They may persist on the plant until the year after the flowers have bloomed. |
| Mature Size | 3' - 6' |
| Bloom | May-July. It has deep pink to reddish-lavender flowers near the ends of the branches. The flower is about 2" wide and has many petals. |
| Interesting Facts | Once the flesh has weathered away, the woody stems are hollow with many holes and are popular souvenirs, walking sticks, picture frames, etc. |
| Traditional and Medicinal Uses | The fruit and seeds are edible. The seeds are known to have been an important part of the diet in Ancestral Puebloan times. The flowers have been made into a tea and taken as a diuretic. The spiny stems are sometimes tied together to make impervious stockades, and on occasion have been planted as living fences. |
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Photo for SFBG by Janice Tucker
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Photo for SFBG by Janice Tucker
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