Opuntia arbuscula
Common: Pencil cholla
Family: Cactaceae
Origin: Sonoran and Mohave Deserts. Gravelly and sandy plains, valleys and washes, 1,000 to 3,000 feet elevation.
Shrubby to 5 feet. Green, nearly smooth joints, to 6 inches long.
Reddish or tan straight spines, up to four per cluster. Green joints, nearly smooth, to 6 inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter.
Yellow, greenish or brownish red flowers to 1 inch long and 5/8 inch wide. Flowers followed by green fruit tinged with purple or red, smooth, spineless and elongated.
Fruit to 1-1/2 inches long, lasting throughout winter.
Blooms May through June.
Twenty eight species of Opuntia in Arizona.