Cylindropuntia leptocaulis
A slender, pencil-stemmed desert cactus widely distributed across Mexican and southwestern U.S. deserts, bearing bright red fruits into winter and capable of sexual and asexual reproduction via detachable stem fragments.
Common Names
Desert Christmas Cactus, Slender-Stem Cactus, Pencil Cholla, Pencil Cactus, Christmas Cactus, Tesajo Cactus, Desert Christmas Cholla, Tasajillo, Alfilerillo, Catalinaria
Summary
This Christmas cactus is a desert-adapted shrub native to deserts, grasslands, chaparrals, and oak–juniper woodlands of the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) and northern Mexico. It forms an upright, sparingly to densely branched shrub 0.5–1.8 m tall with slender cylindrical joints; stem segments gray-green to purplish; leaves very small and shed early; spines 0–1 per areole (often up to 3) with wool on the areoles; flowers pale yellow to greenish yellow (sometimes red-tipped) that open late in the day; fruits red to purple, fleshy, forming in summer and persisting into winter.
Growth requirements and uses: full sun, dry well-drained sandy to gravelly soils; water sparingly and avoid overwatering; drought-tolerant once established; tolerates high temperatures; propagation by stem cuttings or seeds, with cuttings often easiest; hardy to USDA zones 9b–11b and frost hardy to -5°C (23°F); wildlife value includes attraction of birds and bees; landscape uses include desert landscaping and xeriscapes; maintenance includes allowing room to spread and pruning every few years to control spread; ethnobotany notes: fruits eaten to sweeten tulbai beer.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
2-5 feet
Spread
1-4 feet
Hardiness Zones
Zones 9b-10
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally full sun; partial shade acceptable.
Soil Type
Well-draining sandy, loamy, or gravelly soils
Soil Drainage
Very well-draining soil (sandy or gravelly).
Soil pH
No data on ideal soil pH.
Bloom Color
Yellow, pale yellow to greenish yellow, sometimes tipped red
Bloom Time
Spring to early Summer; sometimes Fall.
Foliage Color
Green
Fall Foliage Color
Green
Leaf Lifecycle
Deciduous
Growth Rate
Moderate
Seasons of Interest
Spring, Summer, Fall
Propagation Methods
Seeds, Cuttings, Division
Attracts Wildlife
Attracts bees, hummingbirds, hawk moths, birds
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- (DC.) F.M.Knuth
- Publication
- Kaktus-ABC: 122. 1936.
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Caryophyllales
- Family
- Cactaceae
- Genus
- Cylindropuntia
Synonyms
Opuntia leptocaulis Opuntia stipata Opuntia virgata Opuntia virgata Opuntia mortolensis Grusonia leptocaulis Cylindropuntia brittonii Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. glauca Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. longispina Cylindropuntia mortolensis Opuntia fragilis var. frutescens Opuntia frutescens Opuntia frutescens var. brevispina Opuntia vaginata Opuntia leptocaulis var. pleuriseta Opuntia leptocaulis var. brittonii Opuntia leptocaulis var. longispina Opuntia leptocaulis var. badia Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. badia Opuntia leptocaulis var. robustior Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. pleuriseta Opuntia ramulifera Opuntia gracilis Opuntia leptocaulis var. brevispina Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. brevispina Opuntia leptocaulis var. vaginata Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. vaginata Cylindropuntia leptocaulis f. longispina Opuntia gracilis var. subpatens Opuntia leptocaulis f. brevispina Opuntia leptocaulis f. longispina Opuntia leptocaulis f. vaginata Opuntia leptocaulis var. stipata Opuntia frutescens var. longispina Opuntia brittonii Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. robustior