Cylindropuntia bigelovii

Cylindropuntia bigelovii (Teddy-bear cholla) is a cactus native to the United States in California, Arizona, and Nevada, and is also native to Mexico.

Appearance
This cactus appears to be very soft, due to its spines, which completely cover the stems. From a distance, the stems appear soft and fuzzy, giving it the common name, "teddy bear".

The teddy-bear cholla is erect, standing 1-5 feet tall with a distinct trunk, which darkens as the plant ages. The branches are found at the top of the plant in a nearly horizontal fashion. Branches that are found lower usually break off. The silver-white spines, which are actually a form of leaf, completely cover the stem, giving it a fuzzy-looking, but impenetrable, defense. The spines are 1 inch long, and are covered with a paper-like sheath.

The flowers of this cactus are yellow-green at 1.375 inches long. They emerge from the stems in May and June, and form a fruit that usually has no viable seed. The fruit is 0.75 inches in diameter, tuberculate, and may or may not have spines. This cacti produces few seeds, because it mainly reproduces using dropped stems. These stems can be taken long distances, because they stick to the fur of animals. Small "forests" of these chollas are often formed, which are mostly clones of one individual.

Like Cylindropuntia fulgida (the Jumping cholla), the stems of the teddy-bear cholla can easily be detached, and ground around a mature plant is often times littered with cholla balls and other small plants starting where the balls have rooted. The spines of these balls are barbed, and hold on tightly, getting stuck on clothes or hair (these can be easily removed with a hair comb). Pack rats found in the desert often times gather the balls for their burrows, creating a defense against any predators.

This plant, like several other from the desert, is flammable.

Range
C. bigelovii grows in desert regions from 100-300 feet above sea level. In the low Colorado River valley, the most dense cholla forests are at higher elevations, in rocky sites. There are fewer plants in association with the teddy-bear cholla in the Sonoran Desert and Colorado Desert, but 3 are common, but reduced in size: Fouquieria splendens (ocotillo), Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro), and the finger-leaf cholla.

Synonyms

 * Opuntia bigelovii Engelm.