Flower profile

Christmas cholla

Cylindropuntia leptocaulis

Christmas cholla (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis) is a shrub in the Cactaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly April–July across the U.S.

Native in the lower 48

Christmas cholla is a flowering plant that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 2 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in April–July.

4states where USDA records it

2Bloomipedia state lists include it

21,894U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: New Mexico, Texas

Quick look

Cylindropuntia leptocaulis, the desert Christmas cactus, desert Christmas cholla, pencil cactus, or tasajillo, is a species of cholla cactus.
From Wikipedia's article Cylindropuntia leptocaulis, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Cactaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as a shrub with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 4 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
NatureServe lists it as native to Texas and New Mexico. ^NatureServe
In Texas, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–June. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 16,027 research-grade sightings of it in Texas, ranking #25 among the 169 flowers on our Texas list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 1,324 research-grade sightings of it in New Mexico, ranking #30 among the 152 flowers on our New Mexico list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (442 records)

Bloom time in the 2 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Texas	Native	April–June	16,027
New Mexico	Native	few records (24)	1,324

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G4 Apparently secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
Texas: Not listed Not on Texas endangered and threatened plants (31 Tex. Admin. Code § 69.8), as listed by Texas Parks and Wildlife. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Texas. ^{31 TAC 69.8}
New Mexico: Not listed Not on New Mexico state endangered plant species (19.21.2.9 NMAC). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in New Mexico. ^{19.21.2.9 NMAC}
Rare elsewhere: No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records christmas cholla in 4 states.

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recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas.

Texas counties with USDA records: Archer, Armstrong, Bastrop, Bell, Bexar, Brazos, Brewster, Briscoe, Brooks, Brown, Burnet, Cameron, Clay, Coleman, Comal, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Culberson, Deaf Smith, Dickens, El Paso, Frio, Garza, Gillespie, Hardeman, Hays, Hidalgo, Hood, Howard, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Karnes, King, Kinney, Kleberg, Knox, La Salle, Lampasas, Live Oak, Llano, Lubbock, Maverick, McLennan, Milam, Mitchell, Motley, Nolan, Nueces, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Presidio, Randall, Reeves, San Patricio, San Saba, Starr, Swisher, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Uvalde, Val Verde, Victoria, Walker, Webb, Wilson, Zapata.

New Mexico counties with USDA records: Chaves, De Baca, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, Otero, Quay, Sierra, Socorro, Valencia.

Names, range and relatives

Other scientific names (synonyms in USDA PLANTS): Opuntia leptocaulis.

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 106 counties across 4 states; the most are in Texas (74), New Mexico (15), Arizona (13).

Other Cylindropuntia on Bloomipedia (6): Silver cholla, Tree cholla, Buckhorn cholla, Teddybear cholla, Chain-fruit cholla, Branched pencil cholla.

More from the Cactaceae family (37 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Saguaro, California barrel cactus, Beavertail pricklypear, Plains pricklypear, Fishhook barrel cactus, Spinystar, Graham's nipple cactus, Mountain ball cactus.

More Texas flowers

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Firewheel

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Silverleaf nightshade

Solanum elaeagnifolium

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🌼 Blooms in TX: April–September

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile CYLE8.
iNaturalist, Cylindropuntia leptocaulis: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Cylindropuntia leptocaulis (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Texas: Texas endangered and threatened plants (31 Tex. Admin. Code § 69.8), as listed by Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Texas: Texas noxious and invasive plant list (4 Tex. Admin. Code § 19.300(a)).
New Mexico: New Mexico state endangered plant species (19.21.2.9 NMAC).
New Mexico: New Mexico Noxious Weed List (NM Department of Agriculture, updated June 2020).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Cylindropuntia leptocaulis (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Eric Knight via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.