Flower profile

Sagebrush cholla

Micropuntia pulchella

Sagebrush cholla is a flowering plant. In Nevada it's most often seen in bloom in May–June.

–states

608NV sightings*

673U.S. sightings*

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

On our lists for: Nevada

Quick look

Micropuntia is a monotypic genus of cactus. Its only species is Micropuntia pulchella, synonym Grusonia pulchella. The species is also known as sagebrush cholla. It is a tuberous species of opuntioid cactus from the Great Basin Desert of central Nevada, eastern California and western Utah in the United States.
From Wikipedia's article Micropuntia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Cactaceae family. ^iNaturalist
In Nevada, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in May–June. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 608 research-grade sightings of it in Nevada, ranking #64 among the 110 flowers on our Nevada list. ^iNaturalist

Sagebrush cholla gift ideas

Handmade sagebrush cholla gifts from independent makers.

🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.

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Sagebrush cholla art print
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Sagebrush cholla sticker
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When does it bloom?

In Nevada, most flowering sightings come in May–June.

Flowering records by month in Nevada (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (61 records)

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe: Unknown We couldn't find this name in NatureServe Explorer. ^NatureServe
Nevada: Not listed Not on Nevada fully protected plants, critically endangered (NAC 527.010). ^{NAC 527.010}

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)) 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 has no state-by-state distribution for this name, so we can't map it yet.

More Nevada flowers

California barrel cactus

Ferocactus cylindraceus

Native

🌼 Blooms in NV: April–June

Beavertail pricklypear

Opuntia basilaris

Native

🌼 Blooms in NV: March–May

Plains pricklypear

Opuntia polyacantha

Native

🌼 Blooms in NV: April–July

Sources

USDA PLANTS: no profile matched this name.
iNaturalist, Micropuntia pulchella: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Micropuntia (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Nevada: Nevada fully protected plants, critically endangered (NAC 527.010).
Nevada: Nevada noxious weeds (NAC 555.010).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Jim Morefield via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.