Cylindropuntia echinocarpa

Read about Cylindropuntia echinocarpa in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Opuntia echinocarpa, Engelm. & Bigel. A low, spreading shrub, with reticulate woody skeleton, rarely more than 1¼ ft- high: joints 1½-3 in. long, rarely 4-6 in., ¾ in. thick, somewhat clavate: areoles with short white wool and a few coarse, straw-colored bristles, spines very variable in length and number, exterior 8-16, 1¼ in. or less long; interior usually 4, forming a cross, 1-1½ in. long, with loose white or straw-colored sheaths: fls. greenish yellow, 1¼-1¾ in. wide: fr. depressed-globose or hemispherical and armed with many long (1-1½ in.) spines on the upper areoles. Utah, Ariz., and Calif.—The fr. of this species, like most others with dry fr., ripens in the early summer, while most species with fleshy fr. do not mature them until fall or the following spring. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.