Santa Fe Botanical Garden

Common name: Santa Fe cholla, rat tail cholla

Family: Cactaceae (Cactus)

Distribution: New Mexico

Habitat: Pinyon/juniper woodlands

Hardiness: USDA Zone 6 (-10 to 0 °F)

Life form: Cactus/succulent

Occurrence in New Mexico: New Mexico native plant (endemic)

Growing Conditions: The Santa Fe cholla, a presumed hybrid derived from C. imbricata and C. whipplei, is indigenous to Santa Fe County and is known from only three areas between Santa Fe and Chimayo. However, similar plants (also presumed to be hybrids with the same parentage) have been described in La Plata, CO, the Petrified Forest National Monument and Canyon de Chelly, AZ, and Thoreau, NM. It grows in gravelly soil in rolling hills in piñon-juniper woodland, at elevations from 5,800-7,200 feet. The hybrids produces fertile seeds and some presume this to be a relatively new species (C. viridiflora). Although plants produced from seeds are variable, they are distinctly different from either C. imbricata or C. whipplei. This cholla can be planted in local sand or pulverized lava mixed with native soil. Water it when planted and maybe water two weeks later if there is no rain.

Description: This naturally occurring cholla hybrid is smaller and bushier than the more common tree cholla (C. imbricata). It reaches no more than 3 feet tall but may be 6 feet wide, with main stems that have lateral joints primarily in whorls at the ends of each year’s growth. Some of these elongate into secondary stems less than 1 inch in diameter and 4-6 inches long. Unlike C. whipplei and C. imbricata, the stems readily detach at the joints. Each stem has about 8 rows of elongated tubercles (bumps), each with a spined areole at the end. The spines are brown or brownish pink with loose sheaths. Bronze- or salmon-colored flowers are produced in July. The knobby fruits are firm, leathery and not juicy and persist on the plant after ripening. Seeds are generally fertile, but offsprings are somewhat variable, particularly flower color (greenish to brick red with purple tinges).