Plants / Angiosperms / Eudicots / Cactaceae /
What is Teddy-Bear Cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii)?
Teddy-bear is a type of cholla.
What does a teddy-bear cholla look like?
picture here (1)
has chocolate brown stems with fuzzy golden arms (2)
has joined segments (2)
has areolas with miniature barbed spikes that are easily detachable (2)
has rudimentary leaves present on new joints (2)
has seeds with a unique covering, called aril (2)
has extremely close and fine spines, which gives it an almost fuzzy look (2)
has segmented side branches which grow near the top (2)
Where are Teddy-Bear Cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii) located?
native to northwestern Mexico, and the USA in California, Arizona, and Nevada. (1)
How tall can a tedd-bear cholla grow to?
can grow anywhere between 3 to 5 feet (2)
What like teddy-bear chollas?
Teddy-bear chollas are a popular nesting site for birds. (2)
desert rats will put the stems or balls that fall off of the cactus around the openings of their burrows for protection from predators. (3)
Resources
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylindropuntia_bigelovii
2. https://www.beangrowing.com/jumping-cholla-vs-teddy-bear-cholla/
3. https://sites.google.com/a/asu.edu/sonora-desert-detectives/v—teddybear-or-jumping-cholla-cactus
