I can honestly say that this Pencil Cholla Cactus is growing in our back yard. Not our yard in California, of course, but on our recently purchased Arizona property. I took this photo on June 10th while we were on the property talking to our contractor about the placement of the house and RV pad.
According to Desert Tropicals, Pencil Cholla is also called the Desert Christmas Cactus due to its olive-sized red fruit that appears in December. The tiny flowers appear in the spring months and disappear in summer.
I’m really looking forward to having a cactus garden at the new place including this Pencil Cholla and one or two Palo Verde trees already on the property. Click on the image to enlarge.