Christmas Cholla: The Other Christmas Cacti

December 9, 10:06 PMPhoenix Travel ExaminerJay Hammond

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Photo courtesy of Scottsdale Community College

Phoenix is a desert city. Cacti and succulents abound. So it's natural to assume that one of them is a Christmas Cactus. It's just not the one most commonly referred to as a Christmas Cactus.

Cylindropuntia leptocaulis  (previously Opuntia leptocaulis) or Christmas Cholla is in fruit, bearing red berries the size of grapes throughout the winter. This most slender of all the chollas, according to DesertUSA, grows between 4 and 6 feet tall. It is found throughout the Chihuahuan desert including southern Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

"Early [Arizona] settlers named it for the bright red fruits at Christmas time. It is a very thin-stemmed cholla with long spines. It looks more like a spiny bush in the desert," said Leo A. Martin of the Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society.

According to Desert Alchemy, the Christmas Cholla, or its essence, helps people "communicate with humor and ease". It also provides support when feeling stressed of pulled in too many directions by multiple demands on our time and energy. These harmonizing effects make the Christmas Cholla a wonderful addition to any holiday or family dinner table.

It is not without risk, however. The Christmas Cholla often grows within or entwined with other shrubs and plants, disguising its thorns until it's too late and an unwary hand has reached out and grabbed it.  The Christmas Cholla, or its essence can also produce patterns of imbalance, Desert Alchemy warns. Patterns of imbalance can include feeling enmeshed with others or unable to separate yourself from others, fearing that life will be difficult or feeling like you are battling life every step of the way; feeling controlled by the needs or espectations of others or being so preoccupied with details, obligations or expectations that you can't be open or caring with those around you.

Christmas Chollas can be found growing in many places in the Phoenix metro area from yards and washes to parks and the Desert Botanical Garden. Oh, and that cacti most people associate with Christmas can also be grown in the Valely but since they are a species of tropical cacti, rather than a desert cacti, they do best as houseplants. It's too hot and dry outside for them in the summer when the Christmas Chollas are in bloom.