136 THE FANTASTIC CLAN 



tints of lavender and brownish purple, a glorious color com- 

 bination among these largest of the Cholla blossoms, bloom- 

 ing all through May and occasionally a month earlier; and 

 replaced In July by the light yellow fruit, which remains on 

 the trees for a year or even longer. 



Jumping Cholla (Opuntiafulgida) 



Northern Mexico and Southern Arizona 



Along the highway in Northern Mexico here and there 

 dwarf trees appear, five to fifteen feet high, with stout woody 

 trunks branching quite near their bases Into many spreading 

 candelabralike arms, covered with striking rose-purple bloom. 

 A handsome tree Cholla, Opuntia fulgida Is called also the 

 ^'Jumping Cholla" from the sharp spiny joints which are very 

 loosely attached, so that one can scarcely walk among the 

 plants without some of the joints "jumping forth" as it were 

 and becoming attached to the clothing; a strong wind will 

 carry them, too, for some distance or the least disturbance 

 will dislodge them, and woe to the human or animal caught 

 by these cruel thorns; difficulty and extreme pain are expe- 

 rienced In extracting a spine from the flesh, and It leaves Its 

 mark behind, a wound which turns blackish and later a sickly 

 greenish hue. The pear-shaped young fruit and also flowers 

 grow from the tips of old fruit ! thus forming broomlike 

 growths or chains of ten to fifteen fruit which remain on the 

 plants for several years unchanged, sometimes weighing two 

 or three hundred pounds. Fruit that fall to the ground grow 

 into new plants, as do the spiny joints. 



The Jumping Cholla are among the most abundant and 

 characteristic Cane Cacti on the ranges of southern Arizona, 

 often excluding all other growth and spreading rapidly over 

 the broad grazing grounds. They are a beautiful sight on 

 the desert with their translucent white spines covered with 



