130 THE FANTASTIC CLAN 



his dense armor of interlocking thorns Bigelovit is immune to 

 grazing animals or rodents, nor is he injured by the extreme 

 heat or light of the hottest desert lands; all the spines, an 

 inch and a half long or longer, are light golden-yellow, glis- 

 tening in the brilliant sunlight of cactus land and easily rec- 

 ognized from afar. Loose, papery, straw-colored sheaths 

 cover them and the stout sharp thorns are nearly always 

 broken off in a strong wind, or with the slightest disturbance, 

 and stick to one's clothing as readily as burrs; then once they 

 get lodged in the flesh are difficult and exceedingly painful to 

 extract. They form a golden shield for the lovely blossoms, 

 an inch or more in length, pale green or yellow-green suffused 

 with tints of purple. This member of the Cholla clan repro- 

 duces himself very readily, for the loosely attached young 

 joints, falling to the ground, take root and grow into new 

 young plants. The Golden Spined Jumping Cholla and also 

 the common Jumping Cholla are sanctuaries where the desert 

 wren can build her nest and rear her young undisturbed 

 among the thorns; there, too, the chuckwalla, a large lizard, 

 can rest in peace, safe from attack of animal enemy and pro- 

 tected from the burning heat and fierce desert winds that 

 sometimes sweep across the mesas and down the mountain 

 canons, in the great amphitheater of the sun. 



Many Colored Tree Cholla (Opuntia versicolor) 



Western and Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico 



A spectrum of coloring is Opuntia versicolor, with green or 

 dull purple joints, green-yellow, red, purple, or deep maroon 

 blossoms, not so very showy but a maze of tints and hues. 

 The countless flowers give the landscape a rich tone in April 

 and May, and the plants in their armament of mottled spines, 

 brown, gray, and purple, are a picturesque sight at any season. 

 The stems grow six to twelve feet tall, with a trunk two or 



