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Teddy-bear or Jumping Cholla, Cylindropuntia bigelovii

Teddy-bear or Jumping Cholla, Cylindropuntia bigelovii
Cactaceae

Teddy-bear or Jumping Cholla, Cylindropuntia bigelovii
Cactaceae

Teddy-bear or Jumping Cholla, Cylindropuntia bigelovii
Cactaceae

Teddy-bear or Jumping Cholla, Cylindropuntia bigelovii
Cactaceae

This cholla enjoys a particularly bad reputation among desert hikers and travelers who sometimes call it "Jumping Cholla," even though jumping is not something it does.

It takes a good microscope to see them, but the spines of C. bigelovii have not just one barb but several and they point toward the base of the spine. It is easy for a C. bigelovii spine to penetrate your skin, but very difficult to remove it, especially if it penetrates with force. If the penetration is deep enough, you may have to wait a few weeks until your skin cells repair themselves.

Another characteristic of C. bigelovii stems is that they easily break off and fall to the ground. Since C. bigelovii tends to grow in clusters that cover entire fields, it is best to avoid such fields unless you wear sturdy boots.

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