134 THE FANTASTIC CLAN 



foot to two feet In length. Two to four feet tall, this ChoUa 

 covers the arid, sandy, or gravelly and rocky soils along the 

 foothills and broad desert mesas in south central Arizona, a 

 striking characteristic shrub, his fantastic arms irregularly 

 whorled and appearing angular because of the long, prom- 

 inent tubercles; the tri-colored flowers, yellow and green and 

 purple-red, nearly three inches in length, receive boundless 

 protection from the sharp sheathed thorns encircled with 

 bright bands of yellow-brown and tan. Though so beauti- 

 fully mottled, these are spines of which to beware. For so 

 cruel are the spikes of Cholla and so painful the process of re- 

 moving them from the flesh, if one is unfortunate enough to 

 become entangled in their meshes, that medical advice is to 

 leave the thorns In hand or body and allow them gradually 

 to work their way out, rather than to risk laceration by ex- 

 traction. Opuntia Thornheri has been described only very 

 recently; It is named in honor of Professor J. J. Thornber, 

 botanist of the University of Arizona and one of the authors 

 of this book, for his outstanding work on desert plants and 

 flowers. 



Spiny Tree Cholla (Opuntia spinosior) 



Northern Mexico, New Mexico, and Southern Arizona 



We go south Into the rocky foothills and bajadas of North- 

 ern Mexico, then up to altitudes from three to five thousand 

 feet to find this brilliant and beautiful cactus, the Spiny 

 Cholla, called also Tasajo by the natives; and given the spe- 

 cific title of spinosior, meaning "more spiny." Six to fifteen 

 feet, spinosior towers Into the air, crowned by a brilliant 

 rainbow of color, the large lovely blooms, almost three inches 

 long and nearly as wide, clustering around the tips of his 

 thorny arms, bright harmonies of white, orange, red, copper 

 color, maroon, and shadings of purple, brown, pink, with 



