Common names include, “Walking-stick cholla” and “Tree cholla.”
Grows from 3-9 feet tall; sometimes forms dense thickets.
Flowers May to June; purple petals.
The stems and fruit are known to be eaten by man and animal. The stems with tissue removed form a hollow cylinder with a frame-work of holes and meshes.
The woody skeletons of this sort are made into odd-looking walking canes.
Fruit is used for dye.
Adapted to clay loam, sandy, and gravelly sites of plains and prairies.