Buckhorn Cholla Flower

[c.j.]

This is one of the "Cholla" (pronounced choy-uh) cacti.

A little info: All of the 'prickly pear' and 'cholla' cacti (28 species in Arizona) are all opuntia species, family Cactaceae. A lot of the cholla can be difficult to ascertain the actual species, due to their tendencies to interbreed like polygamists in northern Arizona. While they may display different structural characteristics indicating one species over another, the flower color is usually the best way to really differentiate the particular species. Flower color ranges from orange to yellow, sometimes a little red thrown in just to mess you up.